Allan Yap, who tongue-in-cheek, is the Chief Angel of Just Heavenly (M) Sdn Bhd, is a
novelty cake specialist who designs and facilitates the creation of dream cakes and is a creative spirit who is also blessed with green fingers.
Left to his own devices during the recent lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with much time on his hands — Allan Yap who is known for his creative streak in creating some of the best bakes in town’s creativity geminated to a whole new level.
This time, inspiring him to turn his little garden into a mini-farm over the last few months of lockdown.
“I ventured into having my own edible garden after many shocking news about the amount of pesticides and chemicals used in our farms here in Malaysia. Coupled with the rise of cancer in the country and in my family, I decided to slowly but surely steer myself to plant my own foods… But, don’t get me wrong, as I still occasionally buy veggies from the markets and I still eat out,” he says.
The whole idea shares Yap, revolves around the concept of “reduction”.
“I would like to reduce the amount of processed foods, pesticides and chemical laden produce consumed and eat in moderation,” he explains.
With ample time on his hands during the Movement Control Order followed by the extension in the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) that was further imposed, it occurred to him that this was the opportune time to create his own little edible garden.
“A few neighbours and I had coincidentally been talking about creating a greener backplane where we live. After all, how much pandan leaves can you use? Or Lemongrass or Cili Padi for that matter! So, instead of us growing our own little pots of these items, we ventured into sharing our efforts and produce,” he says with a smile. Having gone through many trials and errors over the years, Yap generously shares his tops concerning some of the things he has learnt in creating his own vegetable garden in the hopes that this will help more people to cultivate their own journey of growing their own food in their garden.
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Tip No.1: Good Soil Is A Must!
Good compost and potting soil are essential items in creating a healthy rooting system for one’s trees and vegetables, affirms Yap. He suggests trying to make one’s own as much as possible because then, one knows what goes into its creation.
“With a healthy root system, I have found that the plants and veggies I grow are able to fight and deter infestation of bugs and diseases, which then help with the lesser need to spray insecticides (even though I use organic combinations) and less work overall with plant care,” he advises.
The weekly feeding of a handful of compost to these plants also help with the growth and health of the plants. Apart from compost, Yap also alternated the feed of nutrients with chicken or goat poop.
Replacing pots with recycled plastic tubs that he obtained from my kitchen due to the many baking ingredient tubs from Just Heavenly, the effort to recycle was laudable. Yap maintains that he turned to these containers so that they do not end up wasted in the bins. The adage “Necessity being the mother of invention” proved true in this case for Yap as he discovered not only did they make good grow bins for the vegetables — they also proved to be light and durable, hence making the gardening process way easier. Apart from these two to five-litre tubs, Yap also took to recycling milk cartons, plastic bottles and paper cups obtained from neighbourhood cafes for seedling purposes which he found to be the perfect match for this garden while costing him nothing.
Tip No. 2: Proper Handling of Seeds and Seedlings
When I first started in this journey, I never knew that seeds deteriorate once you open the pack. And so, I lost a lot of seeds in my eagerness to grow a variety of veggies. Lesson learnt. If you don’t use up all your seeds, you can actually keep them in an airtight tupperware and keep them in the fridge. That will help prolong the life of your unused seeds,” says Yap.
And, while it can get quite tricky growing from seeds, he vouches that turning to YouTube for advise is wise. He advocates watering the seeds in the planter two to three times daily if possible. It is also best to also keep the seeds away from direct sunlight until they start to sprout, leaving the leaves to grow and start to show. Once the leaves sprout, be sure to keep them well-watered and in a shaded place. Then, feed the sprouting plants once the second set of leaves show with a little compost. They are now ready for more sunlight too.
Tip No. 3: Exercise Daily Care
Water, water, water the vegetables! Look out for pests such as snails, white mealy bugs, aphids and other plant related diseases and also join groups on Facebook like Plants & Gardens (Malaysia). Yap says this is an awesome resource to troubleshoot the problems one is facing as members are very helpful. Other awesome resources are Pinterest and YouTube if one is looking for organic solutions for the plants.
“What I have growing in my little patch (both in the house, along the front five-foot way and the back lane) besides non-edibles like Frangipani trees, ferns, air plants and decorative plants are fruiting plants and trees such as figs, cherry tomatoes and ordinary tomatoes, heirloom cherry tomatoes and heirloom tomatoes, brinjals, papayas, pineapples and bananas; herbs like mint, Spearmint, Rosemary, Sweet Basil, Thai basil, Purple Basil, lemongrass, pandan as well as edible flowers like the Bluepea (also known as Bunga Telang or Clitoria), Marigolds, Chinese Ginseng (aka Surinam Spinach whose flowers are edible)
and vegetables like Bak Choy, Red Coral Cabbage, Broccoli, purple cabbage, green cabbage, wild rocket, Red Amaranth (sawi merah), Mustard greens (sawi), Bangladeshi spinach, Surinam Spinach, Brazilian spinach, Ocra, Balinese Chilli, Bangladeshi Chilli Padi,
Habeneiro Chilli, Giant Kale, Crinkly Kale, Japanese Cucumbers and root vegetables such as White Radish, garlic shoots and spring onions.
Some DIY Tips
Creating pots out of recycled containers
I had a bit of a light bulb moment due to my busy schedule so I was unable to water my plants on schedule. Thinking of nature and how trees and plants draw water from the water table in the ground, I then tried to recreate that same system with the pots and containers I was using. I made drainage holes on the side of these containers (as opposed to holes in the bottom like conventional pots) leaving a gap of about an inch to two apart depending on the size of the said containers and filled the base with sand. This worked out really well for the plants I have in the garden. Even during really hot days, there will always be a water base in the containers for the plants to be kept happy.
After cutting out the containers, drill a couple of drainage holes on the side. Fill them with sand or pebbles to where the hole levels are. Then, cover the holes with a mesh or even cuttings off an old shirt. Next, you can the holes with some leaves and plant waste (an awesome food source of nitrogen for the plant as it decomposes), followed up with some
compost before you topping up with the potting soil. The organic compost contain loads of earth worm eggs which will then hatch. These worms will be the vegetables’ best friend as they work the soil to keep it nicely aerated while the poop they leave behind will become a natural source of plant feed.
Supporting structures
For growing tomatoes, consider the use of chicken fences (with holes of about one to three cm) and wrap this around the containers. This is useful especially as the tomatoes start to fruit as the fence then becomes the support needed for the plant especially as the fruits appear and ripen.
Protection from pests and birds
The presence of pigeons around my neighbourhood can see them pecking on the sprouting shoots and leaves. Therefore, the solution to this is to use mosquito nets and position them above the planted pots (refer to picture). These nets are easily available at Shoppee and Lazada (priced at less than RM5) which will do the trick. These nets allow sunlight and water through while keeping bigger pests like birds, locusts and bugs away. However, please note that this might not be the best option for plants that require bees to pollinate flowers.
Creeping Structure
For plants like beans, cucumbers, gourds and flowering plants like Blue Pea, one will do well to create a little trellis by weaving wooden strips together from old sun blinds. Fence structures and window grills can also be utilised as in Yap’s case which he managed to get from residents who were discarding them proving true the old adage: “One’s man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
Rainwater catchment
Having stumbled upon huge fiberglass water tanks that were being replaced and were thrown away by the side of the road, Yap had his truck and team pick them up and bring them to his residence.
“They have now become my rainwater catchment tank that doubles as my little fish pond at the back of my house. Having sealed up the necessary holes for this to become a pond, it quickly filled up with rain water gushing into it from my roof gutters,” says Yap.
Since then, he has filled them up with some guppies and baby comet fish which look like baby Koi fish costing Yap RM3 for a bag comprising some 15 to 20 fries. While some died along the way, some were eaten by the birds and also was made into a meal by a resident iguana that Yap’s neighbours spotted. However, the effort proved fruitful as once a water pump was put in and a DIY fountain was created, it became a nice little water feature at the back lane.