Seasonal wisdom for a verdant Lahore

While the soil in Lahore is fertile, people shouldn’t rely solely on their gardeners and consider these essential tips

LAHORE:

Undoubtedly spring in Lahore is the most beautiful time of the year. Apart from the beautiful weather what makes it even more breathtaking is the greenery and flowers that bloom across the city.

Lahore has extremely fertile soil that makes it conducive to planting not only flowers, but also a wide array of fruits and vegetables. The Express Tribune spoke to Noshin Sarfaraz, President of the Amateur Gardeners Club (AGC) in Lahore. The AGC promotes not only good gardening practices, but also teach its members how to sow their seeds and provides them with good quality seeds at controlled prices.

Those who love gardening, but do not have the space in their houses can use their walls to try vertical plantation.

“When compared to Karachi, the soil in Lahore is fantastic,” says Sarfaraz, “the soil in Karachi is sandy and since spring is short-lived and humidity levels are high, flowers don’t last long. Islamabad on the other hand has mild climate, but the soil is rocky as opposed to Lahore, where weather and water is fertile and plantations tend to grow in a regulated manner.”

While the soil in Lahore is great, one needs to take into account the expansion in the city. With the city growing, it is essential to check the soil before the gardening season and make the necessary amends to it.



The autumnal flowering period starts in September, while February/March is the ideal time for the spring and summer crop. “Lahore has an ideal weather to grow summer and winter vegetables, such as lady fingers, pumpkins, brinjals, corianders, mint, peppers, potatoes, garlic, carrots, turnips and all sorts of lettuce,” continues Sarfaraz, “however, what grows especially well in Lahore and not other parts of Pakistan would have to be Lychee and mulberry.”



Sarfaraz also urges people interested in gardening to not rely on their gardener and learn the general know-how themselves. “The local gardener is not well read on the matter and sometimes people adopt practices that are not practical,” says Sarfaraz, “I have seen people use strips of black cloth instead of insecticide to ward off insects from their plants. These remedies are not effective and are general myths.”

Sarfaraz also advises people to experiment with bigger seeds as they are easier to grow and maintain. “Try planting Summer Cosmos because it is easy to grow and will add an effective punch to your garden,” she continues, “but more importantly, always invest in good quality seeds, because you will be investing a lot of time and energy on your plants and it is more rewarding when the quality of the seed is good.”



One thing that Sarfaraz discourages is using organic manure. It is necessary to feed your plants twice a year and amend the soil, but it is also imperative that one does not use untreated manure. “Local gardeners will directly add untreated organic manure to the soil and this is one of the main reasons why termites have become such a major issue in houses around Lahore.” Sarfaraz says it is important to use organic manure, but before using it, one must add anti-termite medicine to the manure and after soaking it, let it dry so that the medicine sinks in.

Sarfaraz recommends Mian Ishaq Nursery on Mall Road for good quality flower seeds and Lahore Nursery for seasonal vegetables, flowers and seedlings.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2014.

Like Life & Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.