You guess right, is Mr. Alan Tan!
And who would ever guess this amazing garden of international sunflowers varieties and wild organic edibles garden existed at all if Alan had not shared pictures with the gardening communities of Singapore?!
It existed not in some plush location, but a corner of a construction site office where he works.
DRAGONFRUIT
GIANT SUNFLOWERS
Many varieties from around the world were grown here.
Sunflowers were not the only crop that he grew well.
Where he worked in the middle of an industrial park, Alan Tan tends to a lush organic garden of amazing edibles.
He grew a variety of gourds, beans, melons, pumpkins, papaya, dragon fruits, okras, etc so well that he often shared his vegetables with colleagues, passers-by, and every visitor to his garden.
CUCUMBERS
BITTER GOURDS
Small bitter gourds like these are claimed to treat blood disorders and diabetics.
Alan Tan recycled used construction materials to grow his crops.
This is such a good idea for climbing plants.
And then, there were more bitter gourds!
Look at the size of this bitter gourd from Alan Tan’s Boon Keng work site.
A hidden organic edibles garden in the middle of Singapore industrial site.
SNAKE GOURDS
JAPANESE MELONS
LONG BEANS VARIETIES
BUTTERNUT SQUASH
A whopping 5.25 kg butternut squash at harvest time on January 5, 2016.
WHITE GOURDS
OKRAS, GREEN & RED VARIETIES
JAPANESE PUMPKIN
Bountiful harvest from Alan Tan’s work garden in 2015.
His black gold of compost.
He recycled all the green waste into compost for his gardens.
Everything green (peels) and browns (soil, tree barks, leaves) were buried.
This is how to compost for apartment dwellers.
Everyone can do this as well.
His office is not the only place where we can find crazy cool plants!
PASSIONFRUIT LIFT LOBBY
CHOCOLATE MINT
STRAWBERRIES
Not only did Alan Tan grew plants well, but he is also very willing to share his 10 years of gardening knowledge and fruits of his labor.
Whether cucumber, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, Alan prepared his own seeds for the next harvest or shared with other gardeners.
Many who visited his garden in Boon Keng Road, were amazed by his garden and I am sure, touched with his generosity.
I am sure there are two phases that Alan Tan heard very often.
” Wow! Amazing!!! “
and
” Thank you” 🙂
This neighborhood will miss Alan’s organic edibles garden at Boon Keng Road soon.
I can’t wait to see what Alan will be planting this year at his new worksite.
Hi Mr Alan, i am deepa. I am interested in gardening and have started growing small plants like mint, chilly, tomato and corriander. I stay in a hdb in 11th floor and have a good space to keep my potted plants with enough sunlight. Recently i spotted okra seeds and planted in a 6 l container with 4kg soil. Is it possible to grow okra in a 6 l container in a hdb? As i know that the stems grow upto 6 feet longer, pls advise… also pls let me know where i can get soil for a lesser rate..
Hi Deepa,
This is Alan’s reply – ” There are few type of okra plants, the tall and the dwarf. The tall plant can grow up to about 2 to 3m and the dwarf about 1m tall. You can grow one plant in a min of 12ins pot diameter with potted mixing with compost soil.” . Many gardeners in Singapore, bought fairer price soil from World Farm. There is a post here on okra as well. I accidentally snipped off the top branch, and made a discovery. This stopped the plant from growing taller, instead fruits start developing at the bottom most part of the stem instead.
Hello SG strawberries.
May I know how can I start to grow Okras. I’d like to try to grow an organic garden starting with Okras. Are there any good quality seeds recommendation and also the soil. Any recommendations and tips are great.
Stella.
Hi Stella,
Okras are easy. Gardeners in the gardening communities (Facebook, example SeedsEx SG) often shared them or they can be bought. Any gardening soil suitable for edibles are very good. Let me ask my friend who has excellent compost and soil to email you. He is helpful and knowledgeable about starting edibles as well. Good luck!
Hi, my cucumber plant leaves show white edges and there are some white spots. They also look yellowish. Some leaves are ok but not very green. Should I move it from my hdb corridor to under sun? Will the leaves can sun burnt ? My tomato plant leaves were burnt and I am concern. By the way, what plants can be grown beneath the cucumber trellis? Thank you.
Most fruiting plants need sun to grow well. Sometimes leaves displaying some discolouration may not be from sun. It can be for other reasons. The most common one in our crowded urban spaces is that we plant in pots that are too small for their needs. When roots are pressed for space, they won’t be as efficient to carry water or nutrients to the plant. Another reason is spraying water ( or some pesticide) on leaves when the sun is very hot.