I started growing basil at home because my kids love pesto. I didn’t expect it to become my new career

It all started with basil. 

A few years ago, my young daughters went through a phase where all they wanted to eat was “green pasta”. This simple dish – pasta tossed with pesto – became the only thing they would eat for lunch or dinner. 

At first, I was buying basil from the supermarket, but it often wasn’t fresh or fragrant, having travelled miles to get to Singapore’s shelves. Still, I was thrilled to see my girls eating something green.

However, supply was inconsistent, and trips to the store to grab plastic, clamshell packets of basil soon became a chore. In one week, I bought four plastic packets and it drove me mad. 

“There has to be a better way,” I thought. With that, I decided to start growing basil myself.  

I’d always liked the idea of growing my own food, but I’d never actually tried it before. I was a banker, not a gardener! 

Little did I know that a simple solution to a small inconvenience would turn into a meaningful way to connect with my kids and foster a deeper passion for food in my family.

GROWING TOGETHER

The first time we ate our own home-grown basil, the girls were so excited. They couldn’t stop beaming with pride. 

They insisted on sitting in the kitchen to watch me prepare the food – a refreshing break away from screens and devices that I didn’t have to enforce. 

As we continued growing greens together, our home transformed into a small ecosystem where fresh ingredients were always within reach.

My daughters began to understand that all the kale and bok choy we ate didn’t just appear magically in the fridge – they were planted and nurtured by people out there in the world, and we could even grow some of them ourselves, in our own home. 

We continued to experiment with our home garden.

Starting with basil, which tolerates Singapore’s climate well, I gradually shifted to growing indoors to escape the heat and tried growing delicate herbs like oregano, thyme, and dill. In a temperature-controlled environment, I found I could even grow lettuce. 

We now have green smoothies daily, and occasionally enjoy Korean beef lettuce wraps – all made with produce fresh from our home garden.

Baking focaccia together using homegrown oregano and thyme quickly became another family favourite. It turns out that herbs in bread are just as popular with my girls as in pasta.

Although they don’t love “salads” as much – they’re still children, after all – they’ve come to appreciate the flavours and freshness of what we grow together.

Over time, my small hobby quickly became something much more.

Within myself, I discovered a deeper interest in produce and agriculture. I found myself wanting to learn everything I could about the farmers who grow our food, their purpose, their passion for growing. 

Watching plants thrive in our little balcony garden opened my eyes to what’s possible with urban farming. I started spending more and more time thinking about ways to sustainably increase access to fresh, nutritious produce on a bigger scale – not just for me and my girls, but others too.

BRANCHING OUT

Eventually, I decided to leave banking behind altogether and founded an urban farming company called Grobrix. 

Unlike typical urban farming companies, we offer a lifestyle “farming-as-a-service” model. This means we install, manage and maintain farm walls at our customers’ locations, bringing fresh produce and green spaces directly into their offices.

To date, Grobrix has helped install these green walls in various workplace environments, from Amazon to American Express.

While this journey started on my own balcony, I’m humbled to see the same joy and engagement we felt as a family now shared in many workplaces and communities. 

The journey hasn’t been without its bumps and scrapes. Growing food isn’t as easy as planting a seed and waiting. My early attempts were all about trial and error – for instance, I initially started in soil but soon discovered that soilless techniques could speed up the growth process. 

But coming into this field from a homegrown passion has taught me to appreciate the small wins – like my kids’ excitement over fresh basil.

That same joy and connection is what I want to bring to others through Grobrix: To help people see and feel a personal, tangible connection to where their food comes from.

My daughters may still be too young to grasp the full weight of sustainability, but I’m proud of the foundations we’re already laying for them and their understanding of food and its impact on our planet. 

The idea of buying a head of lettuce from the supermarket feels foreign to us now. Growing green things and taking consistent care of them has become second nature. 

They also have a clearer idea of what I do now. Urban farming is much easier to explain to children than banking! 

Just as ordering groceries online has now become the norm, I like to think that growing crops at home can become the norm for everyone, too. 

Growing herbs and leafy greens started as a fun little home project for me and my daughters, but I’m so glad and proud that it has evolved to become such a meaningful part of our family, our lives – and, ultimately, my career. 

I can’t say I ever thought basil would play such a pivotal role in my life. 

Nevertheless, I have no regrets about where it’s taken me: Educating and empowering others to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of the food we eat every day. 

Mathew Howe is the founder of Grobrix and a father of two.

If you have an experience to share or know someone who wishes to contribute to this series, write to voices [at] mediacorp.com.sg with your full name, address and phone number.