September 11, 2003

A great time to grow vegetables from seed, says Zahrah Nasir

Growing your very own crisp, fresh veggies in the garden is extremely rewarding, fun, and furthermore, some varieties are so easy that it really is child’s play.

The Karachi climate is often condemned as being totally unsuitable for creating a productive vegetable garden, the soil is often claimed to be useless too. However, in my own personal experience, I have found that Karachi and the surrounding areas, are conducive to vegetable production on a year round basis.

We’ll take a look at some of the easiest vegetables to grow in this week’s gardening article, and I will only include those which you can plant from now until the end of October.

All you need is well prepared soil, with lots of well rotted compost, or old animal manure — a couple of weeks prior to sowing your precious seeds — this should get you off to a good start. The ground should also be kept damp during this time to assist the compost/manure to settle into the soil.

Seeds which must be sown directly into the soil include the following: carrots, radish, mooli, okra, spinach, swiss chard, beetroot, spring onions, beans, and peas.

Those which are better started off in seed trays, plant pots, or other suitable containers include: cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, chillies, aubergines, celery, parsely, dill, and other varieties of herbs.

When sowing seeds directly into the ground it helps if you keep in mind that the smaller the seed, the less soil covering it requires. Carrots for example should be sown just under the surface of the soil, and the tiny seed should be planted an inch apart if you can manage it, in rows approximately three inches apart to maximize the use of space.

If you sow alternate rows of carrots and spring onions, the scent of the spring onions helps to deter carrot flies from attacking your carrot crop. The pungent smell of the onions disguises the sweet scent of carrots, and the carrot flies tend to get confused!

Swiss chard, spinach, and beetroot seeds are quite easy to plant individually, and the following seed spacing is adequate. Swiss chard, one foot all the way round as it can make magnificent, attractively coloured plants. Spinach, four inches in rows six inches apart, and beetroot four inches apart all round.

Radish can simply be scattered then lightly dug in, but mooli needs a space of three to four inches apart in rows six inches apart. Peas, beans, and particularly okra are large, hard coated seeds which are best soaked for 12 to 18 hours prior to planting out.

Peas and beans, if the climbing varieties, obviously require something to climb up, netting or poles are excellent, but plain old string will do, bush varieties do not need to be supported. Peas and beans should be planted at a depth of two to three inches with a corresponding distance between plants.

Okra, a tall growing member of the hibiscus family with attractive yellow flowers, reaches a height of four to five feet but does not, as a rule, need support although if your garden is subject to strong breezes then I would recommend that you give the tall stems the support of canes, tied to the plants with string, to prevent breakages. Okra seed should be sown at a depth of two to three inches, and plants need to be about one foot apart.

Seeds to be sown in seed trays etc., are those which, as a rule, do not mind being transplanted at all, and by propagating them this way it is much easier to plan their eventual location. Chillies and aubergines for example are vegetables which you may prefer to grow in plant pots on your balcony, veranda, or in an area such as a courtyard or along a driveway, which does not have soil.

Also, by starting of things such as cabbage and cauliflower in seed trays, I find that the germination rate tends to be much higher than if you plant directly in the ground. Another benefit of this method is that when the seedlings are big enough to plant out, you can plant them in your prepared vegetable garden, you can also plant them in any suitable gaps in your flower beds, and even in between shrubs. This can be very effective if you choose to grow red cabbages, ornamental cabbage (which is edible), purple cauliflower, and even purple, black, and variegated varieties of lettuce.

Cabbage, cauliflower, chillies, and aubergine seeds should be covered by a quarter to half an inch of soil. Lettuce, celery, parsley, etc., need only a very fine layer of soil on top.

It goes without saying, I hope, that all seeds should be well watered in immediately after planting, but should not be flooded and completely drowned!

Growing seeds should always be kept damp but not wet, if you want them to survive, and produce succulent veggies for your table.

Plants started off in seed trays etc., should be transplanted when they have grown four to six leaves. I recommend the following planting out distances: Cabbages and cauliflowers one foot all round, lettuce four to six inches all round, chillies eight to ten inches all round, celery four to six inches all round, aubergines one foot all round, parsley and other herbs of a similar nature three inches all round, although both dill and corriander will survive with less.

Gardening enthusiasts will notice that I have not included tomatoes, cucumbers, and members of the gourd family, my reason for this is that they deserve more space than I can allocate them in this article, therefore, I will be writing about them separately in the near future. Promise.

Meanwhile if you possibly can, rush out and purchase a selection of the above mentioned vegetable seeds. Empress Market usually has a good selection by the way. Then get busy with planting them — the sooner the better. And good luck with your crops, with the proper care and attention, I’m sure you will be delighted with the results of your labour.

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