GARDENING: ‘WHICH SEEDS YIELD TOMATOES OVER A LONGER DURATION?’

Q. I want to know about the best tomato seeds that continue to yield enough tomatoes for a longer duration. I am from Hangu district, Tehsil Tall in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A. The possibilities of growing different types of tomatoes can be based on the prevailing temperature and local weather, type of soil, growing space, type of plant and type of tomato, to name a few. However, determinate and indeterminate tomatoes are two of the broad categories. Since you inquired and emphasised on the continued yield, and that too for a longer duration, the indeterminate tomato variety may be the best fit for your requirements. Plants of indeterminate tomato types continue to provide produce throughout the year unless they die in harsh winters or any unwanted pest attack. They are a preferred choice among kitchen gardeners for the same reason. I suggest you visit your local seed market and opt for those indeterminate tomato seeds that are best suited to your local conditions.

Q. I really enjoyed reading your article “The Buzz About Bees” here in Australia. Recently, I watched a TV news report about a shortage of bees and became aware that a number of bees in are transported across states in Australia to pollinate fruits. A few months ago, there was a bee disease, and there were not enough healthy bees to enhance the speed of pollinating fruits; hence, those orchards suffered a significant economic loss. Amazing what we humans get the bees to do for us!

Your advice on using pesticides at dusk is especially useful because I (sadly) use a local brand of poison spray to kill the nuisance weeds in my garden. I only worry about the neighbour’s cat —though it has been enduring the poison for 15 years so my worry must be misguided — but the bigger worry should have been the bees, which are always hovering around. I will now poison the weeds only at dusk! Thanks much for that article. Please keep enlightening us with your flora knowledge via Dawn.

A. Thank you for your detailed email and appreciation. Letters and emails like yours increase the knowledge of the readers. We look forward to your continued feedback and responses to our articles, along with any other interesting and informative gardening-related updates from almost the other side of the globe.

Q. This is not a query. I recently read your piece “Raining Lilies”. It was only after that, that I learned the name of the flower that would grow occasionally in my home was Rain Lily. We would always refer to it as the ‘pink flower’ and consider it to be some form of weed.

A. Thank you for sharing. Keep reading and happy gardening!

Q. I read your columns in Dawn with interest. I have a plot of one acre with walls and an electric connection near Lahore, where I live. I am retired from active business. I’m writing to ask your expert advice regarding growing organic vegetables on a commercial scale. What kind of investment will I need to make and what will be the volume of profit?

A. Thank you for your query. Please note that when it comes to gardening, my focus is usually to grow organic food, which would be enough, at least for my family, and other than that, to beautify my house in terms of flowering plants and indoor ornamental plants. I have never done it on a mass scale or commercially with the intention of generating a regular stream of profit. I would suggest you consult those who are already in this business at such a scale while keeping the demands of your target market in check. They are in a much better position to guide you, especially when it comes to finances and determining organic versions of those crops that are high in cash production and less risky to invest in.