Gardeners in the tropics, including Guyanese gardeners, often get quick results. What would take several seasons to achieve in temperate climates may often take them only a year or so to achieve. Whilst it’s not instant maturity, growth here is so rapid that it’s not all that far removed from it. I have observed over many years that this rapid development can occur throughout the year 5 or 6 degrees either side of the equator. This is great for gardeners in a hurry, but it also has an often forgotten consequence. The more quickly they grow the more quickly they age, and this is true of many of the imported treasures. The simple reason is they cannot really get used to constant spring and summer. You have all seen what happens to roses. Almost without exception their life expectancy is much shorter than their counterparts grown in temperate countries. Magnificent roses to start with, but after just a few years they are tired from too much growing. There is only one thing to do if you love roses. Dig them up, throw them away, and plant some more. The next lot will be just as magnificent, and last just as long.
Tree pruning
I could not have been a surgeon. The very sight of blood makes me feel weak – especially if it’s my own! When it comes to tree surgery, however, I am a lion. Removing diseased and dangerous limbs is food and drink to me. But there is always a slight feeling of guilt when I have to prune my own trees, because if they are youngsters it means that I have planted them in the wrong place and not allowed sufficient space for their development. Many of us are guilty of this in the quest for instant maturity, and not only with trees. Overcrowded shrubberies too are a common enough sight. It is standard practice when planting shrub borders to plant more than you actually need to obtain a quick ground cover. Later many are thinned out, and thinned fearlessly, for a dense overcrowded mass of shrubs is not a pretty sight. It is not standard practice to plant trees thickly and then thin them out – not in gardens anyway, where a lot more care and forethought is required. An idea of the eventual height of the tree, and just how wide it will spread. is necessary to avoid the need to take to the saw.
Know your onions
You can grow really brilliant onions in this country. All you need is a good patch of soil which has been really well enriched by the addition of cow mould or compost. And of course a good supply of water. To prepare ground for sowing rake it really well to level it and bring it down to a fine ‘tilth,’ removing all stones and debris. Onion seed is sown in rows 12 inches apart in drills 3/4” deep – rows running east to west and as straight as a line of soldiers. How do you get your rows straight? Use a straight piece of 2” x 1” timber and just run a ruler, thick pencil or stick along its edge. Remember, sow only 3/4 inch deep. Any deeper and you’ll have to read them the last rites.
After sowing the seed thinly, close up the drills by pulling the soil back into the drill with the back of a rake or with the feet. Seedlings are allowed to grow to an inch or so high and then thinned so they are an inch apart. An inch or two higher and they are thinned to 3” and finally to 6”. The whole point of getting everything in straight rows and evenly sown and spaced is to give every seedling a fair chance to grow into a healthy onion with even competition.
Thinned seedlings can be used in salads or, if you have a little space, planted. The crop must not be allowed to dry out too much and will benefit from a dressing of a balanced fertilizer at 2 ounces to each yard run once or twice before harvesting. Important: It’s a good tip to bend the onion stalks over when the main bulbs are fully developed to expose them to the sunlight. This helps to ripen them.
Until next week may your God go with you wherever you may go.
