But many shy away from this activity as they feel they don’t have “green fingers”.

“The secret to starting and maintaining a great garden is to use the right soil,” says Evelyn Wong, 29, who manages the operations of Ground Control, a startup that makes compost-based soils and helps people set up their edible gardens.

Established in 2017, the company also sells garden supplies.

Her colleague Stef Naidu, 37, adds: “Our compost is mostly made from garden waste, as well as organic food waste collected from supermarkets that would otherwise end up in landfills.”

This is notable given that over 4,000 tonnes of food waste end up in Malaysian landfills daily, despite the country almost running out of space for this purpose.

Ground Control can help with your edible garden whether you have a large yard, a small balcony, or a simple window box.

“It’s a misconception to think you need land to grow something. All you need is good soil, access to sunlight in some manner, and a watering system of some kind.

“Any kind of space works,” says Naidu, who helps build garden beds and cultivate edible gardens for their customers.

Plants frequently requested by clients include four-angle beans, dill, corn, eggplant, amaranth, mint, ulam raja, spinach, kesum, Thai basil, pearl tomatoes, and chives.

They also sell various kinds of heirloom seeds, which refers to seeds that have been passed down from one generation to another, retaining their original traits.

In addition, the startup conducts various workshops on gardening and composting for children and adults.

According to Naidu, some people shy away from composting because of the perceived malodour. But, when done right, “it doesn’t smell”, he insists.

“We want everyone to compost their organic food waste instead of throwing it away. Even if you don’t have a compost bin, you can make a pile somewhere and let nature take its course,” he says.

He adds that, as long as it is covered, the compost will not attract rats or snakes.

People also think the bigger their garden gets, the more work they need to put into it. Again, Naidu says, this isn’t true.

“Permaculture is all about reducing your workload over time,” he explains. “The most work you do is at the start; after that, you let it go and let nature take its course.

“Nature doesn’t need you that much,” he quips.

Wong and Naidu say they have so far received positive feedback from 80-90% of their clients.

“Some people have issues with pricing but the quality is definitely there,” Wong says of Ground Control’s products and services, adding that they have had an influx of customers during the pandemic.

And Naidu says it brings him joy when clients send him photos of their flourishing gardens a few months down the road.

“It makes me happy to see people greening whatever little space they have,” he says, “especially since everything is being turned into a concrete jungle.”

For more information, visit Ground Control’s website, Facebook page and Instagram account. You can also visit its headquarters and nursery (by appointment only).

Ground Control
88, Lorong 17/33a, Section 17,
46400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor