The Tribune

By Gardener Jack

The tomato season has come to an end as far as sowing is concerned. High night temperatures in May and June will preclude pollination of regular tomatoes and only a few varieties such as Italian plums and cherry tomatoes will produce fruit. The use of a hormone spray to induce fertilisation may increase your chances of success. That said, the last two weeks of April had some very cool evenings that should have persuaded our flowering tomatoes to set fruit.

Onions, however, are at the harvest stage and are taking pride of place in the garden. Once an onion has bulbed to full size the leaves will die. At this point they should be pulled and the roots removed. Farmers allow their onions to lie in the sun for a few days until the onions are cured. The leaves are then removed and the crop goes to harvest.

Most home gardeners will eat their own onions. Once the onions have been cured they can be stored in onion bags or shallow trays in a well-ventilated area. I prefer to plait my dried onion leaves and hang the bunches from hooks, in the open air but sheltered from rain and direct sunlight. Whenever an onion is needed for the kitchen it can be snipped away using a pair of scissors.

The usual vegetables that can be sown now for summer use are cowpeas, lima beans and such, plus okra. I would also recommend snake beans, also called asparagus or yard-long beans. These are of Asian provenance and produce wonderfully well. Truth be told, they are far tastier and more versatile than snap beans.

The beans should be planted at least 6 inches apart where they can gain access to strong support. A chain link fence is fine. I am trying to train mine onto mango trees that are not bearing this year.

Snake beans are massive producers and the beans should be harvested regularly. Although the beans can easily grow to over two feet it is best to harvest them at 10 inches. The pods are rather spare and lack the substance of snap beans but this becomes a virtue when stir frying them. The taste is pleasant and pronounced and the bean pods readily take on the flavour of garlic or whatever else you cook them with.

It is definitely watermelon season and as many as can be accommodated should be planted. Watermelons can be grown in areas outside the regular garden as long as the sowing area is fertile and kept moist. The secret to watermelons is lots of water, lots of sun, and lots of fertilizer.

Summer flowers should be in by now but if you have been remiss it is not too late to sow seeds. Mexican sunflowers, vinca (sailor's button, periwinkle), cosmos, gerbera daisies, African daisies, marigolds and zinnias are all established summer flowers but you will also find petunias to be successful if they receive a little shade.

May is the month when many exotic bromeliads flower. You can buy flowering bromeliads at any time of the year but once established in the garden they seek their individual flowering season. Once a bromeliad has flowered it will slowly die but in the meantime it will produce new plants at the base, 'pups', to take mummy's place.

Do not be in a hurry to pull up a bromeliad that has completed flowering. Cut the dead flower stalk and leave things be. The mother plant will look presentable for months after blooming, and the longer the pups are attached the better.

The first splashes of red Poinciana flowers will be seen in May, though the trees reach their full glory in June. Somehow Nassau is a much more pleasant place when Poinciana trees are in bloom.

Crepe myrtle also blooms at this time of year and is a wonderful sight as it tumbles over walls and fences. There are many shades of colour available but I particularly like white crepe myrtle flowers for their visual freshness. May is also the month when heliconias put out their colourful bracts.

May is a practice month for summer. We will have thunderstorms and sweaty weather, but do not complain. It is going to get much worse.

gardenerjack@coralwave.com