Here are some organic interventions for your garden especially something that coastal dwellers can take advantage of if, they are fully prepared to undertake the work involved:

SeaweedIt is excellent mulch come long lasting fertiliser as long as it is prepared and then used correctly. Rich in boron, iodine, magnesium, calcium, sodium and a range of other valuable trace elements it must not be used in excess otherwise, as it is incredibly rich, it can actually harm your plants.

Fresh seaweed needs to be thoroughly washed to remove as much excess salt as possible before it can be applied as mulch or, in small amounts and preferably chopped up, added to the compost heap/bin.

This chore is easiest accomplished by placing the seaweed in a large drum, covering it with water, swishing it around with a stick and then, like hair washing, rinse and reap as many times as you feel is necessary.

On completion of this heavy work the clean seaweed can immediately be applied around shrubs, roses, trees and other perennial plants in a generous layer up to three or four inches thick but, whatever else you do, do not apply seaweed mulch again for another three or four years. Alternatively, you can spread the seaweed out on a concrete surface and leave it, turning once in a while, until it is absolutely dry and crumbles to the touch.

This dried seaweed can be lightly sprinkled all over the garden, lawns included, as a general feed, mixed into organic compost or, even better in the writer’s humble opinion, made up in to a fantastic foliar feed by soaking a decent handful of the stuff in three litres of boiling water overnight, straining through a piece of muslin cloth and spraying the liquid (add the dregs to the compost heap) on to whatever you fancy, although tomatoes and roses will literally drool for the privilege.

Liquid seaweed spray can be used once a week without any adverse effects and your plants will definitely reward you for this wonderful treat. Harvesting seaweed from the beach does not, sadly, mean that the fronds can be guaranteed 100 per cent organic as, on the Karachi coastline in particular, the ocean is heavily polluted and some of this pollution is bound to have been absorbed by the seaweed.

Gathering it on beaches as far away from the city as possible is perhaps the best idea but, even then, if the selected beach shows signs of oil pollution or other nasty stuff then leave it well alone.

SeashellsIf seaweed isn’t your idea of fun then you can always go beach combing for shells and cuttlefish to be used as soil improvers in your garden. These will need washing too in order to remove as much salt as possible but this is a far easier task than tackling seaweed.

After washing, the shells and/or cuttlefish should be hammered into tiny pieces for mixing into the soil, adding to compost or compost heap. These are both high in calcium and contain a number of other trace elements although in small quantities. This is not an actual fertiliser as such but, over time, helps to improve soil conditions and, to a lesser extent, fertility.

Peat or Peat mossPeat moss is being imported in ever increasing quantities these days. If the sacks contents are exactly what they purport to be, then endangered peat bogs continue to be exploited in the countries where this precious commodity is still to be found in commercial quantities.

Incredibly expensive as this extremely acidic commodity is, people must be buying it otherwise it wouldn’t be available in larger quantities; five years ago it was hardly seen. Peat can be used as mulch but washes away during watering or blows away in dry weather.

Added to sandy soil it improves water retention properties and is used as an ingredient of potting compost. Depending on the existing ph of your soil it may be wise to add organic lime at the same time as peat in order to offset its acidity. Fashionable as it may currently be to use liberal amounts of peat in your garden, I am totally against its use as the bogs from which it is taken need to be preserved for a number of serious environmental issues along with issues related to safeguarding the biodiversity of those rapidly shrinking localities.

Also, the majority of plants, indigenous and introduced, cultivated in Pakistan do not require highly acidic peat which is more liable to harm than help them along.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. Answers to selected questions will appear shortly in a future issue of the magazine. The writer will not respond directly by e-mail. E-mails with attachments will not be opened. Please note: The writer’s garden is not open to the public.