Growing fruits and vegetables like brinjal in your own garden can be very rewarding.

Nothing quite beats the satisfaction of growing one’s own food; being able to grow a huge edible fruit or vegetable can give one an even greater sense of achievement!

Understanding that avid amateur gardeners may wish to showcase their impressive harvests, the National Parks Board (NParks) launched the first Community Garden Edibles Competition in 2015. Featuring common garden edibles, such as brinjal and papaya, this annual competition looks for the heaviest or longest fruits and vegetables grown in Singapore. (Read more about the inaugural event here!)

Community gardeners showing off their produce for judging at the Community Garden Edibles Competition 2016

Now in its third year, the competition includes bitter gourd, chilli, sweet melon and tomato this time round, on top of the previous list of fruit and vegetables. Ever tried cultivating edibles but wonder how to grow them to an impressive size? The key is in good plant care. We get a couple of our 2016 competition winners to share some growing tips.

Madam Wee Joo Wah Rosalind and her prize-winning pumpkin, together with her colleagues, who helped her carry the pumpkin

Madam Wee Joo Wah Rosalind from Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital, who grows pumpkin and winter melon, clinched the first prize for her entry in the heaviest pumpkin category. Here’s what Madam Wee says, on growing these two plants:

• Provide a soil base of 10 ft by 2 ft (about 3 m by 0.6 m) for each plant, to give it ample space to grow.
• Maintain a full foliage of leaves so that the plant is able to photosynthesise effectively.
• When the plant starts to bear fruit, choose to maintain only one or two fruit on the plant, so that the fruit can get the most nutrients from the plant to become bigger.
• Fertilise once a week and water daily.
• Let the plant have four to six hours of full sunlight every day.

Madam Liew Ah Sau Julia with one of the bittergourds she grew

With help from Madam Ong Guat, Madam Liew Ah Sau Julia managed to grow impressive vegetables, clinching first prize in the long bean category, as well as the consolation prize in the lady’s finger category. Here’s what Madam Liew says, on growing these two plants:

• Before planting, solarise the soil (use solar energy to heat it) by laying a clear plastic sheet over the area you wish to control pests and get rid of unwanted pathogens.
• It’s best to grow these plants from seed; save seeds from your good plants for future planting and store these seeds in the fridge for longer viability.
• Fertilise with chicken droppings weekly.
• Water in the mornings and evenings daily.

Vegetables submitted by participants were displayed in the Community Garden Edibles Competition showcase during the Singapore Garden Festival 2016.

Keen to put these tips into practice? Though registration for Community Garden Edibles Competition 2017 has closed, you can still try to grow your own edibles, and try out for next year’s competition; visit www.nparks.gov.sg/edibles for more information.

Also, do join us at the Community Garden Festival in HortPark from 3 to 5 November 2017, where the 2017 competition results will be released! At the festival, you can indulge in your love for gardening through gardening workshops, talks and demonstrations, a gardeners’ market and food bazaar, tours, family activities and much more!

Text by Rachel Teo