NParks Gardening with Edibles Campaign | Circuit Breaker Gardening Update

The Circuit Breaker has ended and Singapore is currently in Phase 2 of reopening.

Previously, I tried planting Pak Choi during the Circuit Breaker period. Unfortunately, the seedlings did not survive as my room is not conducive for plant growth with a small North-facing window. I have grow lights but only switched one on as my desk is located next to my indoor garden and the bright purple lights affect my work.

I decided to rearrange the plants to make the best use of the sole grow light. I tilted the light towards a wall and placed my light-loving plants there. I also repotted my etiolated Mother of Thousands and gave it a spot with stronger lighting. I shifted all of my air plants to my window sill to prevent them from getting scorched by the lighting and I think they will benefit from the increased air flow as well.

I still have hopes of growing crops in my garden, hence I sowed another pot of Pak Choi. NParks has recently launched the Gardening with Edibles campaign where each household receives two packets of seeds. I got tomato and Kang Kong and decided to grow the latter too. I stored the opened packets of seeds in the refrigerator to preserve them.

I thought this was a great initiative by NParks to encourage home gardening and recent news articles have shown that indeed more Singaporeans have picked up gardening as a hobby during this pandemic. Many nurseries and plant shops reported high sale volumes. I personally prefer to shop in-person to ensure that my purchases are healthy and not infested with pests, thus my only recent acquisition was a Sanseviera.

(I did not repot it as the roots look healthy. The last time I did not repot a new purchase, it got infested by mealies and nearly killed my collection. Please grow well.)