What once was just a hobby has, over the years, transformed into a full-scale organic garden. For the past 30 years, Datuk Albert Mah has been recycling and composting his kitchen and garden waste. A former chief police officer of Penang, Datuk Mah fell in love with gardening, “it calms the soul and relaxes the mind. It’s peaceful in my garden” he explains.

Time has given him the opportunity to experiment and perfect his techniques. He is a firm believer in vermicomposting, which is the use of red earthworms in the breakdown of organic waste to compost.
 
Datuk Albert Mah 
(Section 5 Resident, PJ)
“Its really very easy and very enjoyable, all you need is to take the time to start. I’ve been composting for a long time. It is the perfect hobby for a lazy man” he jests. “Just take your rubbish and dump it in the pile. It is also cheap and effective.” he explains as he gets up to give me a tour of his garden.
 
“This is really very simple.” He explains. Basically, it is plastic containers stacked one on top of the other, with little holes in the bottom. You start by adding bedding, which could be newspaper or cardboard, black earth, food scraps and red worms to the bottom tray. The red worms being voracious feeders will digest the food scraps and what not in no time. As you add tray upon tray, the worms will digest what’s at the bottom and migrate up towards the new source of food, leaving behind fine soil and humus rich in nutrients that are essential for good plant growth. Then you just have to remove the bottom tray with the nutrient rich compost and add it to your garden. The best fertilizer! The worms are in paradise as long as you continue to feed them your scraps and will reproduce in large numbers and soon a regular cycle will emerge.

“I may have 300 to 400 hundred worms in this factory.” “I also add water to my worm factory on a daily basis. This water seeps through each layer and in doing so, comes out with absorbed nutrients and worm waste. I use this to water my entire garden. It is 100% effective. I’ve got a healthy garden, of lady’s fingers, brinjals, sweet potato, chili padi, long beans, Kang Kung, Kai Lan, etc, completely organically grown. No fertilizers and no insecticides! Take note to keep the worm factory covered to keep away the rats.
    
Basket Garden He calls this his basket garden naturally for which he cultivates plants he thinks he would like to have in his garden and also as he prepares his vegetable patches. All his plants start out in his basket garden; the soil is from his worm factory and compost heap which he nourishes with worm water. All materials he uses like these baskets are recycled from mini markets and so on that throw them out. But they’re also fairly cheap to purchase. He even recycles rainwater!!!
It’s like a wild party out here. “Here’s the trick about growing veggies, you must grow them with the grass and weeds. It keeps the soil fertile. I believe in maintaining an interaction between all the animals, insects, worms, microbes and plants. It keeps the garden healthy.” He explains. Well it works, his vegetables are big and beautiful and scrumptious looking.
 
Fresh garden clippings, third stage compost material, intermediate stage with dry grass and kitchen waste, compost bin This simple enclosure was built with just bricks and cement and other recycled material that was being discarded. The top is kept covered and the front area part way covered to prevent too much moisture from getting in. There are three different sections; one for the fresh grass clipping and garden scraps and the other for dry grass and kitchen waste. “I usually wrap my kitchen waste in newspaper and moisten it with water before dumping it in the heap and top it up with dry grass. The dry grass is good for building heat up. It prevents air from getting in which allows the heat and moisture to decompose everything. Eventually what you get is this black earth here in the center compartment.”

Here he uses fish water to revitalise the soil that has been used and over used for his plants. By fish water I mean rotting fish left in a big bucket of water for weeks on end. What he does with this fish water is to pour it all over the patch of soil and then leaves it for a while sometimes weeks until the acidity has reduced and so on. Yes it smells pretty strong but it’s better than all the chemicals and commercial fertilizers you would otherwise use.

His fruit trees are fruiting, his veggies are plentiful and his flowers are blooming from his roses to his orchids and even this little one! His secret ingredient is…dog poop! He has three lovely dogs that nourish his garden. Shows you nothing goes to waste in this house. However, the dog poop is strictly for the flowers and nothing else. “I used to feel embarrassed every time I went around stealing grass clippings my neighbours were throwing out, and then I got older and now I feel if you don’t want it then I can put it to good use.”

Composting – in a nutshell
Composting is the decomposition of plant material, food scraps, garden and kitchen waste that can be eventually used as a fertilizer for house plants and garden soil. It is a critical step in reducing the amount of garbage sent to landfills for disposal. The process of composting is dependent on the billions of microbes such as fungi and bacteria as well as worms and insects that digest waste material. Composting systems require an understanding of certain biological, chemical, and physical processes such as the movement of air, uptake of carbon and nitrogen, and heat production and transfer. In the presence of sufficient air, water and food, these organisms will eventually turn your waste into compost.

What to compost? 
- Grass cuttings are high in nitrogen content  
- Kitchen wastes such as fruits and vegetable peels, tea bags, coffee grounds, egg shells and other similar material.  
- Fresh leaves or dead and dry leaves are excellent composting material.  
- Garden weeds

What not to compost?  
- Chemically treated wood products as they could cause soil poisoning.
- Diseased plants that could affect the plants in the garden.  
- Naturally human waste should be avoided as it contains disease organisms.  
- Meat, bone and fatty food waste attract peats species like rats and flies and should therefore be avoided. Fatty foods also tend to slow the rate of breakdown.  
- Dog and cat waste should also be avoided as they carry disease harmful to humans.

Why Compost? 
- Composting provides soil conditioning that improves plant, garden and lawn growth.  
- Compost acts like a sponge, helping soil retain moisture and nutrients.  
- Compost helps break down heavy clay soils or helps to bind sandy soils.  
- Soils rich in compost experience less erosion and reduced quick runoff.  
- By returning nutrients back into the soil, compost reduces the need for expensive chemical fertilizers.  
- Composting household materials will save landfill space. The amount of waste you send to the landfill will be reduced by 1/3 to 1/2.

How to compost?
Firstly decide whether you want to compost a pile in your backyard or using a composting bin instead. Once decided, just add your waste materials. Add kitchen and garden waste to the pile, chopping organic material into smaller bits results in quicker breakdown. Place soil or already done compost over the pile. The soil contains microorganisms and soil animals that will start the decomposition of waste materials. The layer of soil will also prevent the moisture from seeping out. Moisture is an important component for a compost heap as it maintains breakdown activity of soil organisms. Therefore the moisture should be adjusted accordingly. Add dry straw or sawdust to soggy materials, or add water to a pile that is too dry. The materials should be damp to the touch. Air is another important component for the decomposition of organic matter. Sufficient oxygen supply will result in fast decomposition and prevent odours. This is easily done by turning the pile at least once a week. Allow the pile to heat up. High temperatures mean high microbial activity and rapid decomposition. The pile will eventually reduce in height. The end result should look like a pile of dark crumbly soil mixed with small pieces of organic material with a sweet earthy smell.