The National Parks Board (NParks) will be distributing more edible seeds, following the overwhelming response from members of the public in its first distribution back in June.

This was announced by Minister for National Development Desmond Lee on Oct. 24, in his opening remarks at the Community Gardens Festival 2020.

Lee said that the growing interest in community gardening has helped to beautify the neighbourhoods and support local biodiversity.

The Gardening with Edibles initiative complements Singapore's "30 by 30" goal to strengthen food security.

Singaporeans are also able to appreciate the efforts of our local farmers better, Lee said.

60,000 free seed packets to be distributed

A total of 60,000 more seed packets will be distributed.

Out of these 60,000 packets, there are 10,000 seed packets of more unique and challenging edibles for more experienced gardeners who have attended NParks' gardening masterclasses.

These "challenging" edibles include watermelon, tomato, capsicum, french bean, soybean, corn, bitter gourd, purple bok choy, basil, coriander, and radish.

The remaining 50,000 seed packets consist of beginner-friendly seeds such as bayam and kangkong.

The link and code to redeem these seeds will be shown in the Community Garden Festival programme on NParks Facebook between 2pm and 4pm on Oct. 24 and Oct. 25, 2020.

All seeds will be sent via mail.

Free masterclasses on how to grow edible plants

Besides the distribution of free seeds, NParks will be running a series of masterclasses to teach people how to grow edibles.

There are eight Zoom sessions. Each session can accomodate an estimated 1,000 participants.

All the sessions will be uploaded on NParks' YouTube channel afterwards.

The first session on chillies and capsicums was conducted on Oct. 24 morning.

The next session will be about tomato, eggplants and Lady's Fingers, and it will be held on Nov. 28, 2020.

Here are other masterclass topics that you can look forward to:

• Beans & Cucumbers

• Gourds & Melons

• Leafy Vegetables

• Rooted Vegetables

• Mints & Basils

• Mediterranean Herbs

We deliver more stories to you on LinkedIn

Top image by Sumita Thiagarajan and via Facebook