Calendula path Vegetable and herb seeds for sowing now — unless you happen to reside in cooler, upland areas of the country where winter weather can be very cold indeed — include winter and spring cabbage, cauliflower, green onions, broccoli, calabresse, Brussels sprouts, beetroot, carrots, turnips, rutabaga, tomatoes (these may need protection on winter nights anywhere north of Karachi), mustard, giant red mustard, mizuna, lettuce, endive, spinach, Swiss chard / leaf beet, kale, potatoes, peas, beans, broad beans, celery, Chinese and Japanese salad greens, winter radish, onions, coriander, mint, chives, garlic chives, lavender, rosemary, thyme, lemon balm, parsley, sage, fennel, dill, nasturtiums, chamomile, oregano, marjoram, thyme, watercress, borage, calendulas, lovage and try some kala zeera (black cumin) seed too.
Edible flower wise and in addition to the calendula, nasturtiums, lavender and chamomile mentioned above, put in some pansies and violas, dianthus (pinks), bellis, pelargoniums — often called geraniums, and a goodly amount of old-fashioned wallflowers, in as many colours as you can find and yes, all of these are perfectly edible as long as they are 100 per cent chemical free.
Flower seeds to sow for essential bee and butterfly nutrition are: sweet Williams, sweet sultan, cornflowers, old-fashioned, perfumed petunias, antirrhinums, annual chrysanthemus, stocks, lobelia, poppies (of all kinds, colours and sizes), godetia, alyssum, ageratum, nigella, verbena, coreopsis and, in the second half of the month, larkspur and early sweet peas.
Bulbs and corms to put in at the end of the month include: Nargis, Dutch iris, Dutch hyacinths, tulips, anemones, rannunculous, crocus, sparaxis, Asiatic and Oriental lilies, grape hyacinths, freesias, daffodils, amaryllis, begonia, arum lily, cooperanthes, Madonna lily, hemerocallis, hymenocallis, tuberose, zephranthes and gladioli.
Pot grown trees, vines / climbers / ramblers and shrubs to purchase now in readiness for winter planting include: every kind of fruit tree you can find as long as they are suited to your localised climatic and soil conditions; grape vines, passion fruit vines, kiwi fruit and purely ornamental vines / climbers / ramblers such as jasmine, climbing / rambling roses, Sandwich island creeper, tecoma and anything else which catches your fancy.
Ornamental and flowering shrubs such as roses, plumbago, panix, poinsettia, lantana, frangipani, hibiscus and jatropha can also be brought home now but, please ensure that you do have space to put them in the ground — or in suitably large pots / containers before investing your hard earned cash!
Pot grown trees / shrubs can be purchased all year round but should really, in our harsh climate, be left in these pots / containers until the relative cool of the winter months come around when they are less likely to fall victim to transplantation shock. ‘Bare rooted’ trees, vines / climbers / ramblers, shrubs, should only be bought, for immediate planting in prepared ground / pots / containers, over the winter months.
Additionally, if you are aiming for huge, show size chrysanthemums, it is important to keep up the onerous task of disbudding — removing all except the main flower bud as soon as they appear.
Cut right back — even stop if you like — watering your roses as this gives them a much needed rest, for two to three weeks, before you treat them to their winter pruning, after which you should give them a good, organic feed, to encourage strong re-growth and flower formation. Do not, please, perform the unspeakably cruel practice of exposing their roots for a couple of weeks or so as this unnatural act does not help them one bit and it is a wonder that the poor roses survive such ‘shocking’ treatment at all!
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, Sunday Magazine, October 4th, 2015
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