Noor Shahiran Yusoff, 33, said ventured into gardening to fill her time during the Movement Control Order in 2020. With only RM50 to cover the cost of fertiliser, soil and tools, she initially planted about 30 vegetable seedlings, including chilli, ginger and coriander leaves, for personal use.

“These began growing well and eventually multiplied into other seedlings. I never imagined it would yield such positive results – that motivated me to pursue gardening more seriously,” she told Bernama at her home in Kampung Madu Jaya recently.

The mother of three said her crops attracted the attention of neighbours and relatives, who wanted to buy the seedlings from her yard.

“From there, I focused on cultivating essential kitchen plants and garden herbs two years ago, promoting them on Facebook and through WhatsApp. Now, I have over 1,500 different types of seedlings,” she said.

She currently grows more than 70 types of vegetables, including cherry tomatoes, cili padi, eggplants, green chillies, turmeric, ginger, galangal, cabbage, sponge gourd, cekur hijau (Chinese ginger), ulam raja and Brazilian spinach, priced at between RM5 and RM30 per seedling.

To produce the young plants, Noor Shahiran sources treated seeds – crucial for reducing the risk of disease or insect infestations – from agriculture stores and sows them in the appropriate soil. “Sometimes this is used in combination with peat moss, which absorbs water like a sponge and ‘binds’ to sandy earth,” she said.

According to her, the seeds will typically sprout within two weeks before being transferred into polybags or small pots filled with coconut husk to stimulate seedling growth.

“The shortest period for harvesting, provided there is sufficient water and fertiliser, is about 28 days, but this can extend to almost a month and a half. So far, the plants that are more challenging to grow are the green and Kulai chillies, as they are prone to disease,” she noted.

Noor Shahiran, who sells her plants both online and through walk-in sales at her home, shared that her orders come from customers nationwide, including Kuala Lumpur, Terengganu, Pahang, Sabah and Sarawak.

“When it comes to postal services, I pack the plants carefully to avoid them getting damaged. The feedback from customers has been positive as the plants have been delivered in good condition,” she said, adding that she earns about RM8,000 a month.

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