Urban Farming for Food

Our Thoughts Note:  For this eco series, 90 to 95% of all the materials used are all recycled/up-cycled materials except when safety is concerned. Materials needed for building structure like beams, roof cover are acquired, all others are recycled/upcycled. No part of writeup from this site can be reused in any way without written permission from the blog writer. #Reduced #Reused #Recycled #BeTrueToYourself We have come to the end of our eco series. Our writeup ends, but our actions will not. They have been imprinted into us already. We have started and will continue.  Make every effort to reduce buying and reuse what you have is the message we are trying to drive at, as long as safety is not compromised.  Recycle is the last resort. You don't need to recycle if you do not have extra. Throwing stuff into the blue bin or giving it to the rag and bone man do not solve the problem. It just makes you feel good, the problem is outsourced, some one is doing it. Seriously, ...

Background Note:  For this eco series, 90 to 95% of all the materials used are all recycled/up-cycled materials except when safety is concerned. Materials needed for building structure like beams, roof cover are acquired, all others are recycled/upcycled. No part of writeup from this site can be reused in any way without written permission from the blog writer. As much as we can, we wish to keep the trees. Especially matured trees. They help fight global warming, give shade and keep us cool. However, we have to learn how to manage the dropped leaves and twigs that can pose issue to our shed's roof.  Our roof gradient is not steep ( due to cost reason which we will skip here ). Debris gathered on roof. This not only can cause potential early damage to the roof but also mozzie's risk.  How to build something over the roof easily, cost effective, does not block  the sun and yet easy to clear away debris, hence pose zero mozzie risk? The team looked through all the ...

Background Note:  For this eco series, 90 to 95% of all the materials used are all recycled/up-cycled materials except when safety is concerned. Materials needed for building structure like beams, roof cover are acquired, all others are recycled/upcycled. No part of writeup from this site can be reused in any way without written permission from the blog writer. #IdeasOnWhatCanBeUsed #MatchingNeedsToWasteCollected In all growing, support structures and trellis are typically needed especially when you are growing climbers. We do acquired some trellis for our melons but we wish to also recycle/build as many trellis as we can for those less demanding/sensitive crops. We intend to grow some "almost perennial" crops like passionfruit, Huai Shan (Chinese or Japanese yam) and they all need some kind of support or trellis.  We chanced upon some to be discarded window frame and grilles. Saw their potential. The owner is kind enough to gift them to us. As usual, we sat down and get ...

Background Note:  For this eco series, 90 to 95% of all the materials used are all recycled/up-cycled materials except when safety is concerned. Materials needed for building structure like beams, roof cover are acquired, all others are recycled/upcycled. No part of writeup from this site can be reused in any way without written permission from the blog writer. #IdeasOnWhatCanBeUsed #MatchingNeedsToWasteCollected Any built up enclosed sheltered area will need a door. Green house door will need to be netted too to prevent tiny pests from entering the plot.  We need to build a custom door with fine netting, relatively strong frame yet easy to mount to the green house round side pillar. Most importantly with minimum cost as agriculture margin is extremely low. Last but not least we use recycled materials too, to stay true to our eco focus. The team looked through all the existing material gifted to us till date, then set our brain cracking. Seeing The Light Bulb #DiscardedPi...

Keep Your Space Neat Over Time Any setup will need regular maintenance to stay functional, neat and tidy.  For a planting plot, regular maintenance is a must. There will be tools that you will need to keep so that you can use them from time to time for regular upkeep of the place. There will definitely be planting supplies like compost, soil, fertilisers etc that you will need to store well for regular use too. Enclosed Space For Beloved Tools #KeepTheRatNestOut #Don'tNeedTheExtra A planting plot is typically a semi outdoor space. Hot, windy, humid and maybe subjected to occasional rain splashes too. Ideal storage rack will be of stainless steel anti rust materials.  We placed 90% of our tools in enclosed plastic boxes and placed on preloved stainless steel rack like above. Some bulky tools will need to be exposed but those are typically very rugged and will be fine. It is important to keep them in closed containers to keep the rats out. They can chew up everything a...

Make On Going Tools Accessible #ToolsHanging #StoringFarmShoes Discarded broken laundry rack, old garden shed abandoned by a rooftop garden, down to mini stool are all important part of the setup. These are tools that you need to use on a regular basis. They have to be kept away from rain, but still remain easily accessible and well ventilated (not in closed up cupboard). This allow them to be dried up well before next use.  A discarded laundry rack above has been retrofitted with blessed PVC pipes, laundry lines, small wire hooks to organise tools as well as hang gardening boots All gardening tools like spades, gardening hoes are hung up after use. Pruning scissors, measuring cups, spoons, spray bottles, gloves, blooms and watering cans are all nicely organise for easy access.  Rats love to build nest in gardening rubber boots. Hanging them upside down deter the rats from doing that. They are cleaner when stored this way and and will not collect dust too. #ReuseHouseholdProdu...

A Little Fun for Us #CandiesForOwnEyes #AddALittleFun  All these decorations are either blessed to us, discarded by some or old pieces of display in our homes that we swapped out when re-decorating our own homes. These 2 dolls above reflect us.  Happy souls enjoying ourselves in our little space.  These pine cones are hand carried by a friend all the way from New Zealand. The flat stone pieces seated along a pathway are made from stones slabs dug out from the underground, exactly where the farm shed sits on now. We do add on some stone chips to fill the gaps though.  #HavingFunWithLetters Words art are imprinted onto cement walk paths using black pebbles. We used leaves to perform leaves art too. Our most cost effective way of creating simple signage. Especially love the wooden log looked alike ceramic stools above. Added a pot of lemon borage, a tea light holder and some decorative flowers.  A unique display for our rest area. A little old basket tray, a chippe...

Rustic Patio #ALittleExtraSpaceForSunnyDays Remembered the table that we are blessed with from a bungalow's tenant? We were given 4 chairs too. Two of which the frame gave way shortly after. For safety reason. we have to bin them. The other 2 in the picture above have torn seats' fabric, the stitches and fabric are all disintegrating too.  The frames/base however are solid. We therefore decided to tie the two chairs together, add a plank on top ( the remaining bed plank), tie them firmly to the arm rest  to form an outdoor table. Perfect work table for small jobs during sunny days How about a little rustic bar counter look alike? Saw a discarded metal base, place a bi-folding toilet door on top and  bingo, we got what we wanted. Back to Eco building page.  Click here Follow us on FB or IG for more updates #likeOurPage #FollowOurPage From time to time, we will document the details of our experience and notify the updates on IG and FB. Do follow our page if you ar...

Improvised Sink Stand A free standing stainless steel sink sounds really tempting for a semi outdoor settings. However, they are rather pricy and preloved piece are hard to come by.  Simple wall mount wash basin however can be easily found discarded at new BTO flats during renovation. The challenge is, without a proper wall, how to support it? #SupportTheSink #HideAwawayTheMess #YouThrowWeAdopt Was blessed a huge Toyogo hardy industrial storage box many years ago. Originally it was being use like a small bath tub by the first owner. It outlived it's purpose and was passed on to us. The material is good and is pretty strong. We therefore decided to use it as sink's stand. We have leftover PVC pipes, an old tap from last home renovation. Put all together,  tie a laundry string to the box and we have a support, towels hanging area as well as space to store pails and washing items. Perfect for us. Once again, other than the UPVC bottle trap at sink discharge point, all the rest of...

Our Little Oasis #TurningTrashesIntoGoodies We work hard and play hard too! After hours of labour intensive work in the hot sun, nothing beats having a little space to have our meals and drinks to chill and bond. Every piece of furnitures here are up-cycled. They all have a previous life. #TableAndChairsWithHistory #JustLovePrelovedItems The table used to be a chill table at a garden patio of a landed bungalow. The owner that blessed us this beautiful piece bought this preloved item from the first owner. That makes us the proud third owner.  The green chairs are from a neighbourhood clinic. The GP that we have known for 2 decades has decided to retire and wrapped up the clinic.  We had them during covid period. Stacked them in our store room for 2 years before finally putting them to good use here. Love them.  Both table and chairs are totally weatherproof. Superb quality products, real waste if they are to go into dumpster. #kidsTableReused #BedPlankReused #Waterpro...

Well Planned Plot #PlantingPlotConsiderations #80%RecycledParts Note: all the materials used except the gutters and mounting brackets are all from recycled/up-cycled materials.  For all planting sites, natural elements like sunlight, natural landscape and terrain as well as winds strength and directions should be the most fundamental factors to consider above everything else. These are usually beyond our control. Even if it is possible to change, it will cost lots of money and effort. Not to mention the possible destructions to environment if we force feed our dreams by extensively altering a natural space.  After you managed to channel your ground water well, effort still needs to be put in to ensure your roof water does not flow back to your planting plots and floods your plants during heavy downpours. Hence gutters' primary function is usually for water channeling. It can however also be used to help collect some water for basic washing or for a mini fish pond. Th...

Background #Throw&Forget Usually we throw them into recycled bins and happily felt assured that yes, they are all well recycled and the guilt melts away. Sound familiar? #3R #Reduce #Reuse #Recycle Reduce, reuse, recycle. The best way towards zero waste is to do very well for the first R. Embrace second R (reuse) in your daily life and recycle only as last resort.  #DoYourPart #WasteManagement #CleanAfterYourself Always make it a point to recycle the waste yourself first instead of outsourcing to others ( like give them to rag and bone man or recycle bins). Clean after your own waste will give you a better appreciation of the actual challenges behind waste management. #UseOwnBottle #TryToReuse Just take simple drinking water as an example. Reduce: Always bring drinking water in a water bottle with you. In this way you reduce the chance to need to buy bottled water. Reuse: should you need to buy a bottle of water ( always find a water cooler to refill first) or are given one at ...

The Rational #whydothis The first step towards sustainability is really about acquiring less.  We seek to reuse as much as we can, whatever that is already onsite. Recycle and reuse required lots of planning and coordination on the planner/builder part. The person needs to really think out of the box too. It is always easier and less work to just outsource, pay someone to just bulldoze the whole place, throw away all the old,  acquire new and restart. But let’s walk the talk. Being eco friendly starts from OWN. Do the little thing right. This lodge that we have built uses at least 80% of recycled materials. Things that are brand new are mostly for structural building, due to safety concerns.  Sharing Our Thoughts These are some  up-cycling  little tricks we did. We will expand and add the details for each item Monthly.  Stay tune! #Infrastructure #lookgoodpart  #Plantingessentials #usuallyneglectedpart Tricks #1: Recycled bottles as support for gutter...