Q. I live in the upper portion of a house in Lahore and grow plants on the outdoor terrace. I have planted ginger, cardamom and tomatoes but most of my plants die in summer due to the heat of the hot wall. I keep the pots at some distance from the walls but this doesn’t help. Please give suggestions about what to do.

A. As you rightly point out, the main problem is due to heat collecting in the walls during daylight and then radiating back out at night. You need to erect some kind of filtered shade — special shade netting or an arrangement of chiks being ideal as long as all is firmly fixed in place. Such shade will reduce the amount of direct sunlight being soaked up by the walls but, at the same time, the shade should not interfere with the free circulation of air as stagnant air brings its own set of problems. More thought also needs to be given to the species of plants you are growing. For example, both ginger and cardamom are shade-loving plants, not sun lovers at all, and even tomato plants need shade throughout the intense heat of a Lahore summer.

Q. Can bajri (sand used in construction) be used to amend drainage without compromising soil quality?

A. If the construction sand is sea sand; it should not be used in the garden under any circumstances, as it contains too much salt. If, on the other hand, it is river sand, it can be used to improve drainage issues. However, do add plenty of old, well-rotted, organic manure/compost to the soil at the same time, so that soil fertility is not reduced.

Q. I have a small garden in Lahore in which I had planted pumpkins one-and-a-half months back. The question is that the flowers of the plant bloom for a few hours and then burn along with the thin stem they were hung on. I am watering the plants regularly but still they continue to do this. Why does this happen?

All your gardening queries answered here

A. Some years it seems that pumpkins, courgettes and other members of the cucurbit family of plants, only produce male flowers. These male flowers, on the long stems you mention, do dry up and shrivel away as it is only female flowers — these are on very short stems — that bear fruit. I’m afraid that all you can do is hope that the plants do begin to produce female flowers before the season is over. Otherwise, try again next year.

Q. How best to care for Mushk-i-Amber plants? What is the best location for them? How to water them? Also, kindly advise on the use of pesticides, etc. I have placed two of them, in small pots near a window on a staircase. Is this position suitable?

A. Mushk-i-Amber, a member of the huge Artemisia family of plants, needs plenty of sunshine, medium to rich compost/soil, fairly large pots and very little water. If the plants are attacked by pests, please use any of the many organic solutions which are regularly recommended in this column. The position you describe may very well be lacking in sunlight.

Q. I have a five-year-old sharifa tree in my Lahore garden but it is not flowering. It is watered three times a week in summer and twice a week in winter. How can it be encouraged to flower and finally bear fruit?

A. Presuming that the tree is seed grown, it may not yet be mature enough to flower and fruit. Please allow it another year or two years to develop fully and to then reward your patience with its delectable fruit. Giving it a top dressing of well-rotted manure/compost, three to four inches deep around but not in direct contact with the base of its trunk, during very early spring, may help it to maintain its growth, energy and health.

Q. Sometime back I planted tomato seeds in a pot. The plants grew quite well but all the tomatoes rot before they are ripe. What should be done to prevent this? I reside in Clifton, Karachi.

A. Your tomatoes are suffering from blight. This is a common problem over late spring and summer months in Karachi, where humidity is high. Once blight has struck, plants can rarely be saved. The best way to avoid blight is to leave plenty of space between plants so that air can circulate freely and also to carefully snip off all leaves below the first truss (bunch) of flowers and to keep the soil around the tomato plants completely free of weeds and other plant debris.

Q. Is it possible to grow a persimmon tree in Khanewal region?

A. Yes — provided that plenty of water is given.

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

Published in Dawn, EOS, June 14th, 2020