Q. The prices of vegetables and fruits are constantly increasing. I started gardening last year to grow both vegetables and fruits for my family. I primarily focus on growing seasonally expensive items in Karachi such as tomatoes, garlic and ginger. However, there is a problem. When I harvested garlic recently, it was smaller in size than the garlic available commercially in the market. What causes this and how can I fix it?

A. Gardening is, indeed, a terrific hobby which provides health and monetary benefits. The satisfaction of watching your plants grow and harvesting the final yield cannot be put into words.

With regards to your question, there are some important pointers to look out for when growing garlic. First of all, the segregated cloves of garlic (which are separated to ensure growth) should be of the largest size available. Try not to plant the smaller-sized cloves. Also, make sure there is enough space between each one of the planted cloves. For instance, if you are using a fruit basket, you should sow four to five larger-sized cloves only.

You may need to further supply your plant with specific fertilisers i.e. bone meal and a spoonful of wood-ash. These fertilisers and other phosphorus-based fertilisers should be provided twice during the plant’s entire lifecycle: once when the cloves are sown, which should be during the fall season, and once more during spring.

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If garlic scapes start to grow at the distal end of the green, leafy part, then the vegetable should be repeatedly harvested. Not doing so can result in smaller-sized garlic as the greens and scapes will continue to extract nutrients from the soil. A timely harvest is also significant. The best time to harvest garlic is when the green part of the plant turns brown in colour. If you do not harvest your garlic by this time, the garlic bulb may start to divide.

Q. I read your article titled ‘Discover the Kohlrabi’ and wanted to share some information pertaining to that topic. Although the kohlrabi might be unknown in most of Pakistan, it’s a very well-known and widely used vegetable in Kashmir and is considered a staple vegetable in the region. Over here it is known by different names, such as monje haakh, karram, mundi karram etc. It’s cooked in a variety of ways, sometimes with meat and is often pickled as well. In the snowier areas, people dry the kohlrabi in the summer and cook it in winter. Many of these recipes are available on the internet as well.

A. Thank you for your informative email. It is true that the kohlrabi is still an unknown entity for most people in Karachi and in other cities of Pakistan. You will hardly ever see any vegetable-monger selling kohlrabis. When I planted it for the first time a few decades ago, I didn’t even know what it was. We have, however, come a long way since then. Not only does my family now frequently use it in salads, we have also tried our hand at cooking some of the delicious dishes belonging to the Kashmiri cuisine as well. Being an agricultural country, each province and region of Pakistan boasts some unique vegetable, fruit or herb. It is so thrilling to read your email and I would like my other readers to also share the unique gardening and culinary practices from their regions as well.

Q. I have recently started gardening as a hobby. I belong to Shakar Garh, a region in district Narowal. Could you please suggest to me which outdoor, flowering plants I can grow in my garden? Thank you.

A. Since summer is upon us, I would suggest going for any of the summer-flowering plants. Your options may include, but need not be limited to, the likes of zinnia, vinca, cyprus vine, portulaca, cosmos, cockscomb, giardia, four o’ clock, sunflower, gomphrena or morning glory. The germination of flower plant seeds occurs best at the temperature of 30 degrees Celsius. Do keep the temperature in mind when sowing your seeds. May your garden and your summer be filled with all kinds of flowers!

Please send your queries and emails to doctree101@hotmail.com. The writer is a physician and a host for the YouTube channel ‘DocTree Gardening’ promoting organic kitchen gardening

Published in Dawn, EOS, April 30th, 2023