Q. I am writing from Islamabad. I am attaching some photographs of my kaddu [bottle gourd] plants. I had the same problems last year and I approached a few experts in this field. I also provided samples of the fruit that had died recently to a senior pathologist to conduct a culture test. However, I didn’t get any feedback or recommendations for my query. This year, again, I am facing the same problem. Each plant bears one healthy fruit but, after that, the fruits die off, first becoming sick and then falling off. These plants are on the rooftop, in fabric pots of 11-12 inches width and 15-16 inches depth. The soil pH is around 7. I have been feeding them with cow-dung manure. Kindly advise how to resolve this problem. 

A. It seems that the issue with your plant is more of pollination, rather than anything else. The dying of the new, undeveloped fruits also points in that direction. Bottle gourds (long and round) are one of those vegetable plants in which the flowers usually bloom during late afternoon or evening. The gourd plants have separate male and female flowers on the same vine. It is, therefore, important that both male and female flowers co-exist exactly at the same time to ensure pollination, fertilisation and better fruit development. You should closely monitor if that is the case or not. In case there is a gap during the development of the male and female flowers, the result still equals to zero. To avoid such a situation, it is always recommended to grow at least two to three plants simultaneously, so as to increase the probability of both the male and female flowers blooming at the same time.

All your gardening queries answered here…

As mentioned earlier, the flowers bloom later in the day, and the probability of the availability of the usual morning-time pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, is very minimal. In such cases, pollination is usually carried out by night-time pollinators such as moths and bats. If, due to any reason, these night-time pollinators are not visiting your gardening space, then you are left with only one, albeit effective, method to apply: hand-pollination.

In hand-pollination, you simply pluck the male flower off the vine, remove the petals and carefully rub the central part of the male flower on to the central part of the female flowers. Do it in a manner that there is a complete transfer of pollen from male to female flowers. Hopefully, this will start to pay dividends in the form of bottle gourds for you and your family.

Q. I have taken up gardening as a hobby since retirement and I am trying to establish a kitchen garden. I was wondering if it is the right time to sow iceberg lettuce and rocket?

A. I always ask readers who send in their queries to always mention the city they are based in. This is because temperature and climate vary from city to city and it changes many things, ranging from sowing time to watering schedule and sunlight exposure. Nonetheless, it is very heartening to know that you have adopted this wonderful, rewarding hobby. If the temperature in your city is currently in the range of 18 to 25 degrees Celsius, then you may easily sow the seeds of both the leafy plants.

Q. I need the vegetable kohlrabi. Do you have it now?

A. It would have been helpful if you had mentioned your city. The kohlrabi, also known as the German turnip, is readily available in the Kashmir region, but not so easily in the rest of Pakistan. It is a winter crop and available at selected vegetable shops only, in almost all other cities. You may even pre-book it and request your vegetable-seller to fetch you one the following day.

Q. I read your article recently on the variety of garden tools that one should have. It was very informative for new gardeners such as myself. Is it possible to remain in touch with you, as it will surely motivate me, since I have also started developing my kitchen garden as well.

A. It is always heartening to come across readers who take up gardening as a hobby and are willing to invest their time and energies in beautifying their surroundings and doing wonders for the environment. This column will continue to feature pieces on the required tools and equipment needed for farming, especially indoor cultivation and gardening at home as well.

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, October 27th, 2024