As the mercury soars rapidly upwards and the garden shimmers in a heat haze, this month is the ideal time to take a serious look, in fact a few serious looks at different times of the day, at how shade — or the lack of it — is affecting your ‘patch’ and then to create shade if necessary. This will allow you to increase the variety of summer plants you grow and, at the same time, reduce the amount of precious water required to keep your crops, flowers and otherwise, happy.

There is much dispute about which varieties of plants are prepared to not only brave the summer heat to come but to actually thrive in temperatures that send humans scurrying indoors!

Double petunia / Photos by the writer

With the obvious exception of ‘real’ winter species — Brussels sprouts being a vegetable example and daffodils a flowering bulbous one — it is perfectly possible to have edibles such as lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower and spinach producing first rate crops no matter how high the temperature sizzles. Even nasturtiums, ‘petunias’ and many species of annual flowers, more usually grown for a spring display, can be had in flower too. It is all a matter of getting it right and having access to copious amounts of water to keep it this way.

I can already hear some of you saying ‘No. No. NO!’ but try the following before condemning the prospect out of hand and out of ingrained habit please.

There are, for instance, many different types of cabbage: some varieties suitable only for winter sowing, others for spring and autumn and yet others labelled ‘summer’ or, even better, ‘All year round’ and this applies equally to cauliflower too. ‘All year round’ varieties can be grown at any time of the year quite irrespective of the ambient temperature but, in our climate, they must have plenty of shade in summer, be heavily mulched to retain soil moisture whilst cooling the roots and they need daily — evening only — watering. Trying to cultivate winter varieties — these usually require a long growing period than summer ones — in hot weather does not work. It is not so because the weather is hot but because — and this is something the vast majority of gardener’s tend to overlook — they are adapted, many of them quite naturally and over countless generations, for a certain number of daylight hours. Hence, sowing seeds, for example, of winter cabbage which has an inbuilt capacity to flourish in say six to eight hours of daylight only, in summer when daylight hours are often double this, is the wrong thing to do. They do not grow faster because daylight hours are longer: instead, they use up their slow-release energy reserves far too fast in trying to adapt and it is lack of fast-energy that kills them, not the heat.

Temperatures are soaring and it’s time to protect your plants from hot, blistering wind

Yes. Some commercial growers, especially those growing produce hydroponically, provide 24 hour lightening in order to grow their tomatoes, peppers, aubergines or whatever, around the clock but, in the vast majority of cases, they use specially developed seeds bred for this exact purpose.

Mixed varieties of basil / Photos by the writer

Then there is the case of ‘seasonal flowers’: seasonal flowers are annuals, meaning that they flower, seed and die in a relatively short span of time. These are sown, species depending on the time of year, for flowering during certain, say spring, months and having outlived their short lives, wither and die as soon as the heat is turned on. But, if the seed is sown later, the resultant plants, if provided with a reasonable degree of shade, mulch and plenty of evening water, will flower later too. Cosmos, a tall growing annual which is commonly grown all over the country, can, with care and attention, be had in flower all the year round throughout the plains areas of the country, including Karachi — a fact which will, no doubt, surprise many who view it as a purely spring / summer flowering species.

Pink cosmos / Photos by the writer

It is, as mentioned above, basically a matter of selecting the most suitable species for the intended purpose, providing appropriate growing conditions, mulching away to retain moisture and ensuring regular watering. If ‘appropriate’ growing conditions means growing shade plants to shade crops which will benefit from less direct sunlight or providing shade by erecting sunscreen netting then so be it but, when providing shade, try your level best not to restrict airflow as overly humid conditions can cause mildew and other fungal diseases.

Having, I hope, provided you with something to ‘chew on’, let’s move on to seeds, of the more commonly accepted planting varieties, for you to sow this month and then take a quick look at some other gardening chores to be done now as well.

The vegetable garden: cucumbers and plenty of them as any excess can be pickled, capsicums and chillies of as many different kinds as you can find, ladyfinger simply adores the heat and even just a few happy plants provide a surprising amount of pods over quite a long period of time. You can also sow spinach, Swiss chard / leaf beet, crunchy red radish to add zap to salads, summer cabbage and cauliflower, French beans, aubergines both long and round, tomatoes, which one can never have too many of, lettuce in greens, reds, pinks and even purples, plus any other salad greens you can get your hands on.

Herbs: coriander, arugula, dill and lots of basil of as many different hues and flavours as you can find.

Fruit: there is still time to sow a few watermelons and sweet melons but before the middle of this month please.

Flowers: sunflowers, tithonia, cosmos, marigolds, gaillardia, zinnias, petunias, coleus, tagetes, amaranthus, nicotiana, gompherena, matricaria , rudbeckia, portulaca, gerbera and annual chrysanthemums.

General chores:

• Move delicate plants such as ferns into a spot where they have protection from blistering heat and drying winds as, especially the thin ‘leaved’ ones, they can get badly burnt.

• Restrict transplanting of seedlings, irrespective of variety, to evening only and immediately on transplanting, water the soil, not the seedlings themselves, well. This gives them a full night of relative coolness to lessen transplantation shock and helps them survive the next few days until they have settled into their new homes.

• Mulch where ever possible but remember not to allow the mulch to come into direct contact with stems and trunks. Mulching suppresses weeds, slowly feeds / conditions soil / plants, retains soil moisture thus reducing the need to water.

• Study your garden layout at different times of the day and then make full use of shady areas or create shade if needed.

• Keep on top of general garden hygiene as prevention is better than cure.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. The writer will not respond directly by email. Emails with attachments will not be opened.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, May 3rd, 2015

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