Microgreenssg

15/10/2017

Very late in posting but never too late to share.
Last Friday i celebrated Children’s Day with 14 kids over 4 hours Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. We had lots of fun exploring the park looking for mushrooms and gathering dried leaves for our artwork.
The theme was Resilience and all the activities were crafted to encourage mindfulness and promote emotional resilience. Our children often experience stress and art is a good outlet for them express their inner feelings.
Yoga (conducted by Yoga Seeds) is also a good activity to help the kids to slow down and listen to their body. It wasn’t easy as they were rather active but more exposure to such mindful activity will definitely help the children to be more aware of their surroundings and also their inner world.
I hope to conduct more of such holistic activity for the children. If you are interested do PM me.

25/09/2017

I think I know how Eric Carle got inspired for his picture book - The Hungry Caterpillar 😆😆🐛
Nom nom!!!

18/09/2017

Found these hairy caterpillars on my way to pick up my 5-year-old. There are 12 of them on one plant. Not sure what type of butterfly they will become but am sure it will be spectacular. Just don't touch them. Otherwise you will itch all over.
Wish I could witness the whole process and see the end result. This inspires me to perhaps do a hands-on activity on friends and foes of the garden for my boy.

14/09/2017

Last Thursday was a blast. We went for a short nature walk, collected some specimens, and did some observation drawing.
The session started with understand the criteria of living things and what makes plant a living thing. How do we know plants 'breathe' (respire), reproduce, 'move', grow, consume nutrition and produce waste? We did some experiments to find proof that plant is living thing and the part they enjoyed most? Using the magnifying glass. Classic.
Ended the session by learning how to plant some mung beans and caring for them.
So much fun teaching them. Have to do it again soon.

24/08/2017

It's been a while and I apologise the long absence. I needed to take a step (or a few steps back) to assess the business and what do I want from it and its purpose for the community as well.

eShop
It's a hard decision but I decided to scale back on the eShop so that's gone or in a long hiatus for now. Dealing with fulfilment prove to be quite challenging for me.

Workshop
I have been doing some workshops for preschoolers (in preschools) and that has always been fun for me. Teaching and empowering them always gives me hope that I can still change the world.

Moving forward
I am a mom of two young boys and even though I plant, grow and eat greens, that doesn't mean my boys are big tree huggers. It pains me to see how disconnected they can be. I want to leave them a legacy but they have to play a part in it too.

A holistic education
Since my older boy started P1 this year, it's been quite academic. I can lament all I want about the Sg education system but I have the resources to give my child a more holistic out-of-school education. So I have been researching on nature-based activities that also brings in mindfulness, social skills, language, arts, humanity, science and geography. I have crafted a few and I will share more on that.

What's going to change?
I decided to move microgreens towards a learning, sharing, teaching, mentoring approach. It's based on these three pillars
GROW - Not just greens but grow an awareness towards our environment and also our love towards nature
NOURISH - The land with less carbon footprints and mindful decisions. Also ourselves with wholefoods and good knowledge
HEAL - The world because Mother Nature is suffering from the ill effects of our destructive behaviour. Heal our body and soul at the same time.

What can you expect?
I will be posting not just on planting but also plant energy, herbalism, eating well, conscious consumerism, sharing nature-based activities you can do with your child, and life lessons from nature. I don't just want to share post of what I grow and my fruits of labour. I really want to create a platform where I can spread my treehugger vibes :)

I am relaunching microgreens with my upcoming programme which is crafted specially for children between 6 and 10 years old.
To know more just visit www.rootsleavesandflowers.com

I love to know what else you want to learn from microgreens (am thinking of changing the name but having issues with FB page) besides planting.

06/02/2017

Six bunches of harvested common sage from two small pots of sage. These plants have been with me for over two years now and they are still rather productive (nature is so giving right?).
Over the course of two years, I have developed a bond with them and sometimes I find it hard to harvest their little lush foliage. But if I don't, they won't grow and might think O have no use for them.
Anyway, not to waste what I grow, I am always searching for recipes and ways to use them. Previously, I infuse them into sea salt. Some for cooking and some used as body scrub. But this time, I am going to dry them up and then bundle them and turn them into smudge stick . I will see what to bundle them with later on.

26/01/2017

As much as I love growing edible plants, I find it soul soothing to have a green corner filled with other pretty plants for their colours, pattern and texture that they lend to a space.
Took me a week to do up this space which is going to be my happy relax corner. Plants just make me happy and I hope it will have the same effect on my kids.
So perhaps when they are having a tantrum, I will put them at this corner to decompress and time out. Hee heee

24/01/2017

Sorry for the long radio silence.
2 short family holidays, 2 weeks of bacteria infection, 2 festive celebrations are enough to keep one super busy.

And despite its been raining non-stop for the last few days, I managed to sneak in a fruitful, read FRUITFUL harvest at the garden.

This banana plant was planted about a year ago and finally, I can taste my fruit of labor. I never expected it to be so heavy but trust me, it was more than 20+ kg for the entire bunch.

We manage to divide it to 8 combs and shared it with volunteers and the cleaners who have been super helpful.

Take a look at the 2nd last photo. You can see how big it is in reference to my hand.

Now off to find some good recipes to use my bananas. Any to share?

13/12/2016

My recent family holiday to Chiangmai, I found a little gem 20 minutes from my hotel.
Ohohkajhu organic farm prides itself as an organic farm-to-table destination that serves happy healthy food.
I bundled my family into a small van and made our way there. I was looking forward to an idyllic laid back lunch but to my surprise, so were all the locals from all over Thailand (it was a long weekend because of a public holiday). The place was packed to the brim and the queue was as long as I can possibly imagine.
Luckily the whole area was very well thought of and there are like 5 big dining areas to handle the huge mass. The dining halls were strategically spaced with many areas overlooking the farm. It was really beautiful.

The menu was filled with greens and meats accompanied by even more colorful greens.
And the serving is very healthy and generous. Every dish is served with copious amounts of greens - from microgreens to baby greens and adult greens. I have not eaten that much salad at one go. And the pricing is affordable not just for foreigners but also for the locals.
I leave you to drool over the pictures.

23/11/2016

When I started gardening a few years ago, I never thought it will introduce me to so many different things along the way. The journey has been more than fulfilling and sometimes, spiritual. I will share more of that in future but right now, I just want to share this wonderful article about gardening. And it's not just about planting. Read to know more.

http://theplanthunter.com.au/gardens/gardening-can-change-world/

Cultivating perspective, connection and hope in the garden.

06/11/2016

Pause, observe and marvel. Sometimes words fail me. So I just immerse in its beauty and enjoy.