I shall tell you more about aloe vera later.
Why should you grow food? You can get everything in the supermarket. Let me take you through a bit of history.
ADAM'S APPLE
Let's start with Adam and Eve, who supposedly ate an apple. The word is fruit, according to the Book of Genesis, written in Hebrew or Aramaic, translated into Greek, Latin, and then into English. European artists panted the local apples or apple trees. However, if our couple were in the Middle East, they would not be eating apples, which grow in cold climates. More likely our forefathers in the Middle East harvested grapes, which are climbers and grow rife over trees, reaching up to sunlight.
ADAM & EVE'S FIG LEAVES
Since Adam and Eve used fig leaves as primitive clothing, in the next verse in Genesis, some observant commentators have pointed out that Adam and Eve must have had access to figs.
Our ancestors probably started as nomads before they became large scale farmers and small scale gardeners. Humans moved onto farming, dairy farming ('land of milk and honey') and cultivating, growing grain, crops, fruit and vegetables.
My view is simple. Adam and Eve did not plant the fruit trees. If somebody took fruit from a tree in your garden, when you had asked them not to touch that crop, you would throw out the visitors who stole your fruit.
GROWING & SHARING FRUIT
In London, England, I planted fruit bushes.
A friend came for lunch and saw my crop of blueberries.
She asked, "May I pick some?"
I agreed.
She picked every one. She said, "That's lovely. Just enough to make a pie."
Thinking she was going to cook it for us for lunch, or tea, I asked, "Are you going to cook it here?"
"Oh, no," she said. "I shall take them home."
It never occurred to her that I had planted the fruit in the hope of eating it, or that I might have wanted to eat my own fruit.
The moral is clear to me. Whether your name is Adam or Eve, or anything else, if you want to eat fruit, you find somebody who had fruit to spare, you buy it, or get permission - and owe them something to return the favour - or save time, and trouble, grow your own! If you take somebody else's crop, you should offer tho share half, to bring back the apple pie or fruit pie, at very least check that they don't want any of it.
SHARING APPLES
The same thing happened to me again. This time with apples. I had a big crop of apples. A friend came for lunch. He asked me, "May I have some apples?"
I said, "I'll pick you some."
"Don't trouble yourself. I'll do it."
I thought he would take a bag of apples for himself. He packed up all my apples, about twenty bags, far more than he needed.
He said, "I'll give them to my friends and neighbours."
I thought. so I am not one of his friends. He did not offer to leave a bag for me or for my neighbours. I think I managed to take one of the bags of apples.
He asked to come again the following year. I was unable to accommodate his request. I told him, "Sorry. I am too busy."
GARDENERS
I also had a gardener who was paid to do a whole day's work to mow the lawn and cut back some trees.
I saw him picking my apples. I thought, that's good of him.
I went out to bring them in. His wife and child were with him, eating apples, and taking bags of my fruit home. Not one apple or bag for me.
Huge apples, imported, are now available from supermarkets in Singapore.
However, I look forward to the autumn harvest of garden grown apples in the UK.
JOSEPH STORING GRAIN
Moving on, reading on, through the book of Genesis, we come to the story of Joseph, who was sold by his brothers and taken as a slave to Egypt. There he is asked to interpret pharaoh's dream, which Joseph interprets as a warming that years of glut will be followed by years of famine. Be prepared.
As a wise organizer, he becomes the man in charge of the country, and he is responsible for storing grain for the entire country. In the good years he saves up for bad years.
Of course, you have to be careful your stored foods stay safe. Otherwise mould can grow in wet and humid conditions. You can also get contamination by insects.
PRESERVATION NEEDED
Moving on to modern centuries, we have crops needing storage. Large scale storage by governments and industrial enterprises, large scale farms. Small scale storage is needed by households.
SMOKING FISH TO PRESERVE IT
Individuals all over the world have saved and preserved foods in summer to last through winter. Fish was smoked to make smoked salmon.
Vinegar from the grapes was used to pickle cucumbers and vegetables. In glass jars.
SALT AND SUGAR TO PRESERVE FOOD
Salt and sugar are preservatives. Salt makes salt beef.
Sugar turns sweet fruit into jam.
We have grown a small orange tree in a pot on a balcony in Singapore.
Bitter oranges can be turned into marmalade.
For large houses, ice houses were built in the grounds. Cool cellars under houses were used to store wine. Larders were built on the cool side of the house.
CANCER
According to the World Health Organization (WHO for short) and cancer information and prevention websites, preservatives are not good for health, in fact may actually cause cancer.
When a member of my family developed cancer (lymphoma) we switched our diet to eliminate many preserved foods and increased our consumption of fruit and vegetables and nuts.
APPLES
Where I lived and live in London, England, gardens before WWII were planted with rows of apple trees. Apples picked in the autumn lasted until spring. However, without the help of the government in lean times when the farmers cannot get enough money for crops, they give up farming.
GLUT & GOVERNMENT
France and Farmers
In France the government often helps out the farmers.
UK
We had a glut of milk. So marketing brings the slogan drinka pinta milk a day.
In the UK orchards were ripped up. Such a pity. The government thought we could import food cheaply from all over the world.
We had canned or tinned food.
Frozen food.
WW2 BROUGHT FOOD SHORTAGES
Then along came WW2. In the UK ships could not bring in the goods. Men who had worked on the land were away fighting. So women started doing the land work. The new slogan was Dig for victory.
Not enough food to go around unless it was portioned out. Britain had rationing of food and materials for clothing. The war ended in Europe in 1945 but rationing went on until 1952, seven years later.
DISASTERS
What kinds of disasters can strike?
1 War destroying crops, manpower, money to buy food..
2 Terrorism.
3 Penniless unemployed refugees needing food.
4 Natural disaster destroying crops.
5 Plague and pandemic destroying travel and income so ships and planes do not transport food and people have no money to buy.
6 Accidents destroying crops or cities.
2020 BEIRUT
I watched with horror the tragic explosion at the port of Beirut. The explosion killed many. It also damaged the nearby hospital which was needed for the wounded.
The grain in the nearby silo was contaminated. A nearby ship containing edible oil was lost.The port used to import food was lost.
What went wrong?
Dangerous explosives were stored in the port near the city centre.
Fireworks were stored near the explosives.
Grain produces dust which is a fire risk. Combustible grain, a fire risk, was near the explosives.
Grain was vulnerable to explosion and contamination.
Several warnings stood out.
1 Store explosives away from your food supplies.
2 If your port is damaged, by nature, an accident, or an enemy, you cannot import food.
3 If your storage containers are gone you cannot store food.
4 If food is contaminated, you cannot eat it.
5 If you cannot import food, you need to be able to grow it.
6 People need to know how to gather safe to eat food and more importantly grow more, and have food already growing.
SHARE SWAP & PAY
If you have a glut, you should share it. to encourage more diversity, and encourage people to grow and share food, people should be encouraged to swap, or pay for the food.
gardening and tending pots teaches you that some plants grow prolifically in the dark (potatoes), and other prolifically given light and water. Others need constant care, or don't produce fruit for two to five years.
What grows in the dark?
Roots. Potatoes. Mushrooms.
What grows prolifically in Singapore? Aloe Vera?
ALOE VERA
Yes. I told my Toastmasters club about this in a speech on growing your own food. The speech won the vote for Best Speech.
The purpose of the speech was to learn to deal with difficult audiences. One of the planted objectors said, "Plants with thorns and spokes are bad Fung Shui. It's bad feng shui to have thorns and spikes in your house. I don't want plants with spikes. Doesn't aloe vera have spikes?"
"Yes, I replied. "Aloe Vera has spikes at the end - and all the way along. What can you do? I'll tell you what I do."
1 I always wear gloves when working nearby.
2 I water with a can which has a long thin spout.
3 I cut off the spiky tips.
A Chinese Singaporean objected,
"What if you can't have a balcony?"
WHERE TO GROW PLANTS
1 try to live in a place, a flat or condo, with a balcony. Then in a Covid-19 situation you can get out in the sunshine and obtain your vital vitamin D which is necessary for strong bones.
Ask your block to provide allotments.
Or ask the local government to free up some unused land.
Plan more buildings with plants, and make many of them fruit trees.
What can you make from tough figs in the UK? Figs preserved in syrup.
What about sour oranges or little limes or calamansi in Singapore? Marmalade.
WATERING PLANTS FOR TRAVELLERS
When we first came to Singapore, we did not grow plants on our balcony because we travelled so much we thought the plants would die.
You can give the plants away or give to your neighbours to water.
COVID-19
Covid-19 has given us several reasons to want to grow out own food. Restaurants are going out of business. We are confined to home for Home Stay. People who have lost their jobs want to save money on food.
The Singapore government has changed the rules. Previously it was forbidden to grow plants on rooftops of private dwellings. Now it is being encouraged.
How can you water plants around the insides and outsides of buildings? Several systems exist.
1 A series of hoses with holes. Turn on the water at the end of the pipe and the water reaches all the plants.
2 How do you stop the plants damaging the outside walls and allow repairs and repainting? The plants which appear to be clinging to and covering the outside walls are actually a foot or two away, supported by what looks like chain link tennis netting.
Now the government of Singapore is planning to make Singapore more self sustaining.
LEMON GRASS
Cut your shop-bought lemon grass horizontally into three or more sections and leave it upright in a container. change the water every two or three days. When you see some firm little roots growing, you can bury the root in soil in a flower pot.
Label edible plants so you know which of your plants is edible. Alternative, if you have two balconies, keep one or fruit and one for flowers, or one for vegetables and one for fruit. O two big pots or window troughs.
SINGAPORE ACTION
Singapore took action to deal with the need for housing. Whilst a committee was taking several months to plan how many houses were needed, the minister of housing had built more than the committee report said could be built. (See the history of Housing Development Board. HDB for short.)
Singapore used to provide food. The major shopping street, now deserted, is Orchard Road, once an Orchard. Dairy Farm Road was once a Dairy Farm.
In the early years housing and employment worked well. But it was forbidden to grow food on the rooftops of private housing. That rule has been changed.
GIFTS
FREE SEEDS IN SINGAPORE
The Singapore government has given every household two packs of seeds of edible plants. July 2020 for delivery in August 2020.
Every country should do this.
ALOE VERA
In Singapore I was given a small aloe vera by a friend. It grew enormously and sprouted others.
I said to my husband, "If you are given something, you must give something back."
He replied, "Don't worry. I gave them a very nice wine."
Now my friends are asking for baby aloe vera. If you grow prolific plants you will have enough to give away.
USEFUL WEBSITES
BIBLE
Apple, fig and grape discussion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_fruit
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2682/was-the-forbidden-fruit-in-the-garden-of-eden-an-apple/
PRESERVATION
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_preservation
SINGAPORE INITIATIVES
https://www.citizenfarm.com.sg/
https://www.ediblegardencity.com/education-enquiry
https://sg.asiatatler.com/dining/local-farms-continue-to-grow-their-impact-on-fine-dining
https://sg.asiatatler.com/dining/singapore-urban-rooftop-farming-trend
https://sg.asiatatler.com/society/singapore-plants-urban-gardens-but-is-it-all-that-sustainable?
FREE SEEDS & INFORMATION
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardening/gardening-with-edibles/seed-packets
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardening/gardening-with-edibles
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
