Stainless steel tanks leak after a while. Also sometimes get holes in them due to typhoons and rocks. But not difficult to fix.
My wife recently asked me when I would buy her a house. After reading this thread I can confidently say not in this country.
I recently started looking at farmland around Yilan and Keelung. Itâs possible for US and Canadian citizens to buy due to reciprocal agreement but I havenât found a local bank willing to loan any money. So you are looking at $2 million US out of pocket for a ~3000 ĺšł land which is about 2 acres. Seems like a terrible investment unless you have spare cash lying around.
Any reason to look for land so close to Taipei?
Proposed HSR to Yilan will not help you find cheap land. Go farther south to Hualien or Taitung perhaps.
Iâd like to be able to plant some tomatoes and since I live in Taipei, Iâm looking for somewhere a hour or so commute away. Also northern land is better for tomatoes.
2 million for tomatoesâŚWhat a bargain [quote=âjimbob132, post:67, topic:195224, full:trueâ]
Iâd like to be able to plant some tomatoes and since I live in Taipei, Iâm looking for somewhere a hour or so commute away. Also northern land is better for tomatoes.
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How many tomatoes you wamt to harvest?
Can always plant them on your balcony, or find one of those urban/surburban gardens you can rent.
Our friend leases one of the plots on these âcommonâ gardens. He has a decent amount of space. There is water etc. Mostly old people who chit chat and drink tee all day long but it works and he is harvesting a ton of stuff. The place is also all organic (the whole plot)
No idea how to find these places though. Or how legal it is, I think its actually government land by the river side but what ever.
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Did you actually go into the bank and ask to borrow money because youâd âlike to be able to plant some tomatoesâ? 
If thatâs really all you want to do, the communal gardens thing sounds like a good idea, if you can find them. You could also consider growing them on a balcony or rooftop if you have them (and have enough space).
I also read of some guy growing them inside with lights (because he said the police raided him one morning to see what he was growing lol).
Finally, many supermarkets and grocery stores have tomatoes. I canât imagine itâs worthwhile buying land to grow them. 
Dont quote me as for current law, but taiwan backs out of reciprocal type shit all the time. Very hypocritical, but they leave a grey area possibility on the books and just never give anyone. Buying farmland is like citizenship. Its only possible with special permission, which virtually never granted. Unless you have something VERY special up your sleeve, you are stuck with residential zoning.
Nevermind the bank, cause you cant buy the land. But gov banks will tell you to get loans from the agriculture bank. You will need to be a farmer, foreigners also arent allowed unless you are on JFRV and your family are farmers and you can register. Private banks can give loans, but most will only loan based on government set value (accessible online), butthat value is like 10% what it actually sells for cause they dont play the speculation game. Whihc leaves personal or business loans, which work but have higher interest rates but at least there is a sliver of a chance a foreigner can get a loan for land.
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This idea does sound nice. I imagine water access is an issue? and the prices per acre are higher than most other countries?
Out here in Beitou theyâve started using empty building lots as community gardens, instead of just renting them out as parking lots or whatever. People get a couple square meters of raised beds to grow vegetables. It seems like a really good idea, although I guess there isnât enough empty land for it to work in the city center.
But yeah, you can get hundreds of tomatoes out of a single plant in a bucket. I started some in my little indoor microgreen shelf last year, but had to abort when they were suddenly bigger than I was.
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What microgreens do you grow/prefer? Iâve been thinking to do that for a while but never got around to it.
Lettuce is good (itâs spicy and intense, completely unlike the adult plant), as are radish and arugula. I tried spinach but it didnât work out so well.
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What do you use to grow them in? I have a fair bit of coir sitting around, but I wasnât sure whether itâs necessary/better to use grow mats or something (havenât really seen those here).
I just use potting soil in plastic trays. People using rockwool are doing it because it makes it easier to harvest (or deliver as-is to a customer), or because they donât have any other use for the soil afterwards (it canât be reused for microgreens without adding fertilizer).
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Ah ok, thanks. I thought that soil-based media were (slightly) risky because of the bacteria.
I guess it might be, but lots of people seem to do it. I havenât had any die-offs, although they do apparently happen sometimes.
I was actually referring to the risk of eating them raw and soil-borne bacteria being in the microgreens, rather than the risk to the plants themselves (at least, I hope thatâs what you were referring to with âdie-offsâ lol).
I do grow a fair few herbs at home, but obviously with those youâre normally harvesting the vegetation from the top of the plants with less risk of eating anything from the soil. (And, with the exception of basil, everything gets cooked anyway.)
Mostly they limit the amount of tomatoes on a plant to increase size and quality.