Text & photographs by Zahrah Nasir

Hello again readers! I was wandering around my garden thinking of you all this morning and wondering how you are adjusting to climate change and the ‘extreme weather events’ that increasingly go with it.

Up here, in these northern mountains, weather patterns have altered dramatically over the past ten years or so and the fallout from ‘extreme weather events’ has become a major obstacle for everything that grows along with, it must be said, the humans struggling to do the growing!

The almond trees came into breathtaking blossom a full four weeks later than they did last year, as did the apricots and, having lost all the blossoms to a late fall of snow and intense cold last season, I was grateful that they had decided to flower at a far more reasonable time. But, just when they were at their gorgeous best and the plum blossom was thinking of adding to the show…bang… ‘extreme weather event’ in the form of howling, shrieking gales, deafening thunder, disco lightening, elephant rain and monstrous hailstones decimated all open blossoms and knocked off many unopened buds. It also zapped the electricity for a full 23 hours but that’s par for the course.

With a lot of luck there might be a small crop of apricots and an even smaller one of almonds and, so far at least, the plum blossom is intact as is the yet to emerge apple blossom and other late flowering fruit trees. In years gone by, one could guarantee fruit crops but that is no longer the case and, to be absolutely frank, one can nolonger guarantee any kind of crop at all as, if cold and hailstones don’t play havoc then heat waves and drought undoubtedly will.

This certainly does not mean ‘surrender’… no way! What it does mean though is trying to work around the weather, making allowances for anything which may occur and always having extra seeds on standby so that if one or more crops are lost, alternatives can be put in and it is these ‘alternatives’ that I want to discuss with you now.

Many people are under the impression that only certain, usually well known, crops can be sown at traditionally specified times but, thankfully, this is not and never has been the case — even when weather patterns were more settled than they now are. It was always quite plausible to sow carrot seeds for instance, at least a month before and a month after the ‘recommended’ planting time but, at least here in Pakistan, they can be put in the ground anytime from September through to the end of February with decent results in the plains and from March through to mid-December in the hills and other upland areas with a crop to harvest as soon as it’s ready. Crops may grow faster or slower than when sown following accepted calendars but, unless there is a severe drought and irrigation cannot be done, crops there will be.

In facing the task of replanting after crop loss as a result of ‘extreme weather’ or other destructive ‘events’, throw all previously adhered to knowledge out of the window, rummage through your seed stocks or those on offer at your favourite seed store and, ignoring well intentioned advice and raised eyebrows, sow whatever you personally ‘think’ will grow at whatever time of year it happens to be. Lavish lots of tender loving care, keep your fingers crossed and, hopefully, you will be amazed by the results.

A few simple guidelines to help you break free from outmoded traditions:

Sow what are traditional ‘summer’ vegetables from early spring, as soon as temperatures begin to rise, right through until the end of July in the plains and from late spring to the end of June in the hills.

Winter vegetables can go in from mid-August in the plains, shade will be needed for when temperatures are exceedingly high as you do not want seedlings burning up right through to the end of December and from late August until the end of November in the hills.

Members of the ‘kuddu’ family — pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, tindas, loki, etc. — all need long daylight hours and heat to thrive so do not attempt sowing the seeds after mid-summer.

Tomatoes and lettuce can be cultivated the year round in the plains. Tomatoes are purely seasonal…they can be sown from the end of March through until the end of August in the hills where they will crop until winter snow, if there is any, cuts them down. Lettuce is surprisingly resilient in the hills and seed can be sown at any time the ground is not covered with snow. In low temperatures the seed may not germinate but, as soon as temperatures even think of rising, up they pop!

Take a good look at the more recent introductions in the vegetable line, especially some of the Chinese and Japanese varieties of salad greens and spinach-like greens as many of these can be grown, with care, around the year in the plains and, surprisingly enough, in the hills too.

Experimentation is the name of the game so go ahead…break all known rules…have fun and learn from the results.

Please continue sending your gardening questions to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. Answers to selected questions will appear in a future issue of the magazine. This takes time. 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.