Sustainability in the garden is about much more than actual plants and seeds, and includes all other garden inputs. Inputs such as 100 percent organic compost/fertiliser should be fairly obvious as far as sustainability goes but there are other, less obvious, items to consider.

Take something as simple as plant pots and seed trays. There is nothing sustainable about plastic plant pots and plastic or polystyrene seed trays, no matter what the sales blurb says, or how many separate, single seed, sowing squares they contain. Plastic is an oil-based product; it is not sustainable, not environment-friendly and is designed to be disposed of at some point. Plastic residue poisons the earth if buried and poisons the atmosphere if burnt; the same applies to polystyrene. Additionally, in our climate, neither of these materials are plant-friendly as the soil — and therefore plant roots — quickly heats up and dries out in the sunshine. Therefore, on top of all other negatives associated with them, plants grown in plastic pots require copious amounts of increasingly precious water if they are to survive.

Traditional clay pots, heavy as they are, are the most sustainable containers in which to cultivate all manner of plants, and are available in all shapes and sizes, including shallow ones perfect for sowing seeds. Clay pots retain moisture during hot weather and help keep soil and plant roots cool with minimum amounts of water. If you cannot find clay seed trays, cut down wooden fruit/vegetable crates from the bazaar and line them with newspaper. These are ideal and sustainable too.

A growing number of non-plastic alternatives for tools, plant pots and seed trays are available to help you plant a truly sustainable garden

The use of plastic/polystyrene ‘cups’ for seed sowing is another obvious no-no. If you don’t fancy replacing them with homemade newspaper ‘cups’, simply go out and pick some large, tough, leaves, e.g., jamun, roll these into cone shapes, then tuck the pointed end in on itself to flatten the base, arrange them closely so they support each other in rows in a vegetable/fruit crate and you have sustainable seed ‘cups’ that can be planted directly in the ground, without any root disturbance at all, when seedlings are ready to be potted on/planted out. That is as sustainable as you can get.

Seed sowing guide for February: In the vegetable garden: Sow leaf beet/Swiss chard, lettuce, mixed salad leaves, mesclun, spinach, endive, bok choy, chicory, aubergines, cucumber, tomatoes, radish, green onions, seasonal cabbage and cauliflower, potatoes, peas, sugar-snap peas, French beans, asparagus peas, chickpeas, carrots and beetroot for pulling when young. Towards the end of the month, sow a few courgettes/zucchini, spaghetti squash, marrows, torayi, lauki, pumpkins and tindas for early crops. You can start off sweet potatoes, too.

In the flower garden: Sow lots of lovely Cosmos directly where it is to flower, adding long-lasting fragrance by fronting it with clumps of Matthiola bicornis (Virginian stocks) and start off some columnar Matthiola incana (stocks) — they make stunning cut flowers — in pots/seed trays for additional evening perfume. Sunflowers in all colours and forms, and Tithonia (Mexican sunflowers) can be sown now too, along with scabosia, nicandra, nicotiana, verbena, dahlias, godetia, rudbekia, hollyhocks, gaillardia, nemisia, matricaria, tagetes, French marigolds, alyssum, lobelia, portulaca, violas, pansies, lobelia, zinnias and far too many more to list here.

The herb department: Lots of different kinds of basil, such as lettuce, leaf basil, giant basil, Italian basil, Greek basil, sacred basil and even liquorice basil, with its pungent leaves and equally pungent flavour. Oregano, marjoram, thyme, plecanthrus, lemon grass, agastache, lemon balm, pennyroyal, arugula/rocket, dill, aniseed, borage, coriander, chives, garlic chives, fenugreek, mints, chervil, nasturtiums and rank upon rank of gorgeous calendulas.

Additionally, you still have time if you are quick off the mark, to add more trees, shrubs and climbers to your garden providing there is ample space for them both above ground as well as below. So wander around your local nurseries to see what they have on offer.

*Herb of the month: Tropaeolum majus (Nasturtium) is an increasingly popular, simple to grow from seed, flowering annual that is well-known for its glorious display of stunning blooms, but not as well-known as the herb it actually is. The medium-sized seed is easy to handle — and to harvest — and the plants set seed in profusion.

Individual seed should be pushed down, between half to one inch deep, directly where the plant is to flower in prepared soil or pots/containers/hanging baskets. Nasturtium seed can be sown all year round in places such as Karachi but does best in shade over the summer months when it also needs daily watering. In other parts of the country, it does best when sown from early spring on until September/October, unless you are in an area that receives hard frost/snow in winter when sowing should be from early spring to mid-summer only. It’s not fussy about soil types; in fact, it loves poor soil as long as it gets adequate water. Nasturtiums come in an incredible range of bright colours, pastel shades and bi-colours, too. Some strains have purplish/reddish leaves, others green and white bi-coloured leaves but most have plain green ones. Plants may be climbing, bushy or trailing. The peppery tasting flowers and leaves are used in salads, on sandwiches and to decorate main course dishes. Unripe green seeds can be pickled like capers.

Seed sowing suggestions are based on Karachi’s climate and are slightly later, depen­ding on temperatures, in Lahore, Rawal­pindi/Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta and much later in the hills and mountains of the north.

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

Published in Dawn, EOS, February 3rd, 2019