Gardening

September 1999 Table of Contents

GARDENING
by Jack Hardy

It's that time of the year again when we can start dreaming of cabbages and king size tomatoes. Some Abaconians advise waiting until October before putting down your main crops, but September gives you a good start. If anything goes wrong, you can always start again.

Begin by weeding and loosening your soil which will have become compacted by the summer rains. A fork worked backwards and forwards to break up the soil without turning it over and destroying developed strata is quite enough. Give your garden a healthy sprinkling of 6-6-6 granulated fertilizer and while that is soaking in, start your seedlings.

Plant your seeds in containers of loose soil with plenty of aeration. Quick root growth is important. Plant them far enough apart so you can comfortably remove them individually when they are a couple of inches tall and have developed true leaves. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, zucchini, cabbage family and herbs are good early planting candidates. Hold on until October for your lettuce, spinach and other cool weather crops.

Like it or not, the month of September is the one when we experience tropical depressions and storms most. So long as they do not develop into hurricanes, gardeners can take advantage of several rainy and cloudy days in which to put transplants into the ground. Carrots, onions and other root crops can be established by seed. Hurricane Dennis was a little too much on the strong side as plenty of debris was thrown about.

Here on Abaco, gardeners can keep an eye on when Pine Woods Nursery in Marsh Harbour gets in its new season vegetable and herb starts. They will be sure to put you ahead of the game.

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