Angie Mead King Takes Her FarmVille Game To A Whole New Level

This pandemic has certainly taught us a lot in terms of the benefits of being self-sustaining, especially when it comes to our food source.  When the lockdown was first imposed, many of the conveniences that we took for granted were suddenly halted: a lot felt helpless against the long lines at grocery stores, not to mention the fear of catching the virus while out on errands; restaurants were closed, taking a few weeks into the quarantine to come up with delivery systems that many rely on now.  It wasn’t until communities came up with Viber groups and other means to sell and sometimes, even barter goods, that things began to feel “normal” once again.  Imagine if we all grew our own produce in the comfort of our own homes even before the pandemic began? 

Race car enthusiast, restaurateur and hotelier, Angie Mead King, is an advocate of this lifestyle, and through her Instagram page and YouTube vlog, has introduced the country to the concept of Tower Farming via King Tower Farm.  “ Now more than ever, we think everyone should be growing their own vegetables in some way. Either in towers, pots, drums or soil! Securing your food source might be the next steps after the pandemic is over,” she says in one of her Instagram posts.

The Bee-ginning of King Tower Farm

Her King Tower Farm is “is the first commercial aeroponic Tower Farm in Asia using Tower Garden technology.”  It is a 3-hour drive away from Manila, nestled in the shores of Lake Caliraya.  Its website describes the place as a farm that “is dedicated to eco-friendly agricultural solutions and to produce quality crops featuring superior nutrient density.”  The farm itself began with Angie’s father, the late Archie King.  In a vlog post, she relates, “It was started by my father a few years ago, and I just basically turned the key, turned it up a notch and went crazy with it.  One of the big factors why we went into the Tower Farms is that we really wanted to grow the bees.  I did see that the bees were a very difficult market to be in.  There’s only 20 commercial bee factories in the Philippines.  The number is diminishing. It’s a dying species and enterprise…   Studies show that if bees go extinct, we will lose 70-95% of all fruit and crop plants that require pollination.  That is scary stuff!  Even Albert Einstein said that if the bees die, then, the human population will go extinct.  It’s hand in hand. Pollinators give life to plants, fruits, crops, flowers, and without them, we will be screwed.  That is one reason why I am in farming and bee farming in Caliraya.”  In this place, Angie cultivates bees, various flowers, vegetables and herbs.  Cows and goats are also part of this ecosystem.

See what grows in King Tower Farm:

Advocating Sustainable Food Production

Having this resource has led to Angie’s advocacy for sustainable food production via farming.  One need not have plots of land at their disposal in order to engage in this way of life.  She underscores its importance, “In King Tower Farm, I advocate all types of farming from conventional farming, vermicomposting, tower farming, raised bed farming, floating farms, livestock farming, bee farming, permaculture farming and soon aquaponic farming. Again, it doesn’t matter how you do it as long as you learn it so you don’t need to rely on buying fresh produce from the grocery every week. I on the other hand wanted to learn all types of farming to help my bees flourish. If everyone in the city decided to get out of the city to farm instead of crowding we might even prevent a pandemic like this plus we won’t be worried so much when we have no income as long as we have a stable food source,” she explains.

She lists 10 benefits of farming: 

1. Grow your own fresh vegetables, herbs, and fruits.

2. Save on weekly grocery runs.

3. Reduce the amount of plastic packaging from food.

4. Provide a home for bees, insects, birds and other pollinators.

5. Better chances of self sustainability.

6. Eat healthy food without pesticides or herbicides.

7. Increase carbon capture with your plants and trees.

8. Provide oxygen back to Earth.

9. Provide food for your livestock.

10. You can feed your family then your community.

Angie advises, “As long as you get 6-8 hours of sun you can grow anything from basic herbs to leafy vegetables. Plus think about all the none productive garden space you have, what if all of them were something edible instead? Everything you need to know is actually on YouTube. You just need to take an interest to it.”

Are you now inspired to grow your own produce?  Know more about Tower Farming.  Contact King Tower Farm at https://www.kingtowerfarm.com.