Malaysian urban farmer grows vegetables in back lane of his house in Puchong

Balan started to grow his own vegetables, which include Chinese kale, lettuce and eggplant, after reading about the dangers of pesticides in fruits and vegetables. — Photos: Balan Nadarajan

Whenever Balan Nadarajan wants fresh vegetables, he just has to step out to his backyard to harvest leafy greens. In the back lane of his terrace house in Puchong, Selangor, he has a little farm of vegetables and herbs.

“I grow common vegetables like kailan (Chinese kale), bok choy and lettuce. There are also fruiting plants like eggplant, okra and tomato as these are my family’s favourites, ” says Balan, 42, during an interview.