The most heated food debate of late is laid on two options: organically or locally?

Organic food eliminates the toxic fears we have about eating contaminated produce, as well as making farming more sustainable and healthy for the planet. But that often means buying things grown miles away from Hong Kong, using up precious fuel and other resources, whilst polluting the earth with travel byproducts and increase carbon emissions.

Local food lessens the huge carbon footprint from imports, but you might have to get it from places like the weekend organic food stalls at the Central Star Ferry pier or The Organic Farm to make sure it's pesticide free.

Now, how about homegrowing? Obviously, the outrageous land cost in Hong Kong means most of us live in tiny apartments with barely room to stretch in, but there are ways in which you can grow at least a couple of edibles. It's also a great way of unwinding from the stresses of daily life and making us more appreciative of our food.

There are two main ways of growing: geoponically--in soil; or hydroponically--in a soilless nutrient solution.

Apart from herbs like coriander, peppermint, oregano that are easy to grow on your window sill, lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, onions, peas and green beans are amongst the easiest veggies said to be grown indoors. All you need first is to locate some seeds.
 
Most people have had at least some sort of experience with growing in soil -- you need a pot, the right potting mix (these vary in acidity, drainage levels and nutrients), then just follow the instructions on the seed packet.

Hydroponic growing, on the other hand, is much lesser known to most, even though it has quite a few advantages over geoponic growing.

Firstly, it takes up less space, because roots are already immersed in water and nutrients, so roots don't have to grow much to look for them. This in turn, also speeds up plant growth and increases yield, since root-growing takes up a lot of a plant's energy. Typical soil-borne pests and weeds are no longer a problem, and you also save water and nutrients, since there is no leaching out of a pot.

The only hurdle for hydroponic growing is the initial set up, since we need to aerate the water and get the nutrient solution right.

The simplest way to grow hydroponically is the "passive hydroponics system", in which all you need is a container, a piece of styrofoam with holes cut in for the plants to float on the solution with, and a fish tank bubbler for some aeration. Hydroponics can vary in complexity and a clear overview of this information can be found here.

As the economy drooped over the last few years and people started to really feel the sting of food prices, the return to homegrowing has sprung up like daisies in spring. And a few of those cramped up in apartments have been getting creative with what they can do with little growing space.

The Urb Garden is a clever design by Xavier Calluaud: a mini vertical garden with modular cubby holes for growing different plants, complete with its own composting system at the back.

Other designs can get quite fancy, such as the NASA-tested AeroGarden, or its smaller, improved version the Prepara Power Plant, which are tabletop aeroponic gardens (ie. the roots are just misted by nutrient solution) so fully automated that it makes growing so easy you kind of don't need to learn how to grow at all.

It might seem a bit much to buy snazzy growing containers, so how about trying a homemade Window Farm? Their instructions are clear and items needed can mostly be easily found or bought in HK -- old water bottles, a pump, tubing and a few other bits. The idea was invented by two resident artists at New York media art lab Eye Beam last year, who have now created a whole community of window farmers in New York and around the world.

Hong Kong's first known window farmers are from media art institution Videotage, whose assistant manager Alvis Choi says, "It might look complicated, but it wasn't really. It was a project our interns did and they had lots of fun."

The Videotage window farmers, all first-time hydroponic growers, are going to log their progress on their blog, so you'll soon be able to check it out and maybe catch a few tips on how to do it and where to get items in HK. The window farm is now a permanent exhibit at their studio in Cattle Depot Artist Village, To Kwa Wan.

With all these exciting growing methods, surely one of them can help you grow your own vegetables and green up your home beautifully, so do give it a go.

Happy Farming!