The Tribune

By Gardener Jack If you cannot go out to your vegetable garden and pick exactly what you want right now then you did not make an early enough start. A friend of mine told me he was off the island for all of October so did not put down any seeds until his return in early November. Had he planted seeds in September I am sure they would have done very well because October was a magnificent month for starting a vegetable garden. There was regular rainfall and otherwise clement weather. Cool nights encouraged early tomato set and he could have had tomatoes ripe by the end of November. If your garden is doing well, as I suspect, do not forget to plant more seeds to replace your crops as they reach the end of their productivity. Successive sowing is the secret to getting the most out of your vegetable garden. This is a good time to sow onion seeds in a bed in order to plant them in rows later on when they are 5-6 inches tall. If you do not want to fiddle with seeds you may find onion sets at your local nursery. These are onions that have grown to the bulb stage and have then been dried. Once they are in the ground and watered they will continue their growth, giving you a march on regular seeds. Cool weather crops such as garden peas, spinach and lettuce should be ready for another sowing of seeds. Carrots will not be ready yet but you can enjoy some of the small rejects as you thin out your carrot rows. Pigeon peas should be blooming any day now and fresh-picked green peas will be the order of the day in peas 'n' rice. If sweet peppers were started in September they should also be producing during January. If you wish to try something new this growing season, try fennel. Fennel is loved by Italians and it grows very readily during our winter. The long fern-like growth is very attractive and is a herb in its own right. The white bulbs at the base have a light anise taste, and the seeds are an essential ingredient in an authentic Italian tomato sauce. The season of poor man's orchid - bauhinia - has started and these colourful trees will produce their orchid-like flowers through Easter. Towards the end of January shooting star clerodendrum will begin its brief but spectacular display. The annuals you planted for Christmas should last well into the new year, but if you feel you need more you can check by your local nursery. After Christmas they often have sales to clear their decks of impatiens and other bedding plants. These can be bought in sets already at the flowering stage. All you have to do is plant them, stand back, and enjoy. Easter is at the beginning of April this year. Easter lilies and other bulbs can be planted now and be blooming in time for the Easter celebrations. Some gardeners start their watermelon season in January. The last three winters were unusually cool and early watermelons did not do well. We do not know what is ahead so you may wish to plant just a few in January just in case we get watermelon weather. The closer to summer the better, however. May is the ideal watermelon planting time. Although watermelons may prefer warmer conditions, January is a good time to plant muskmelons and cantaloupes. Sow them every month until May and you should have some sweet returns. January is the beginning point for so many projects. For Bahamian gardeners it is a halfway point. Let's work to get the most out of our gardens between now and summer. Here's wishing you an happy, prosperous and industrious New Year!