Planning a Garden: Gardening offers many benefits to your physical, moral and spiritual health. Physical is very obvious that modest exercise is healthy. Moral in the sense that you plant seeds, look after them and reward benefit from the produce. Spiritual in the sense watching your plants grow and bear flower and fruit you connect with God. Gardening fits under the two main attributes of Allah that is Al-Rehman and Al-Raheem. Al-Rehman because He provided all the needed components for gardening for you without asking and for every body. That includes soil, water, minerals, air and light. Al-Raheem attribute covers your efforts. You will be rewarded for the efforts you are putting into gardening. It is the fruit of your gardening, which is under His attribute of Al-Raheem.
Basic principle of gardening is reported in a Hadith. “Abu Hurairah relates that the Holy Prophet said: While a man was walking through a barren tract of land he heard a voice proceeding from a cloud saying: Water the garden of So and So. Thereupon the cloud advanced in a certain direction and rained its water over a rocky piece of land. The streamlets flowed into a large channel. This man followed the channel till it encircled a garden and he saw the owner of the garden standing in midst working with the spade spreading the water, He asked him: Servant of Allah, what is your name? He told him his name, which was the same that he had heard from the cloud. The owner of the garden then asked him: Servant of Allah, why did you ask me my name? He answered: I heard a voice from the cloud from which this water has come, saying: Water the garden of so and so; and I would like to know what do you do with it. He said: Now that you ask me I will tell you. I estimate the produce of the garden, then give away one-third in charity, use one third for my family and self and restore one third to the garden. (Muslim).
Keeping this Hadith in mind plan your garden. Write down the size of your garden, its location, sunlight availability, shade, type of soil, water availability and what you are going to grow. Here are some guidelines. And also share the produce with your neighbors and return one third to soil as its share. This will improve the organic matter contents.
Designing your garden: The design will depend upon the location of your garden. If it is in your backyard, locate the garden where sunlight is available for at lease 10 hours. If house is shading the garden then plant shade-loving plants near the house wall. Basically, just make sure that water is easily accessible and keep enough area for the walkways.
What to grow? This depends upon you. Generally you will grow vegetables and flowers. Vegetables are of two types. One, which produces fruit and the other, are leafy vegetables. Flowers are annual or perennials. Prepare a list of vegetables in the following way:
Warm temperature vegetables: Cucumbers of many types, tomatoes, peppers, Bitter melons (Karela), melons of different types. Plant these vegetables towards the south side of the garden. If you garden is oriented East and West, then plan the rows North and South. Most of these need some type of support to climb. Plan accordingly by having a wooden frame with strings.
Cooler temperature vegetables: They include all leafy vegetables like Spinach, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, and all root vegetables like Carrots, Turnips, Radishes and similar. Root vegetables are frost tolerant and can stay much longer than warm temperature vegetables.
Choice of varieties is yours based on you taste and preferences. Things to remember is when you buy seeds or transplants, find out the time to harvest. It will be clearly mentioned on the seed packet. Warm temperature vegetables are the fastest growing and could give you first fruit in less than 60 days. Some plants produce male flowers first and then female flowers and they require insects for pollination. Generally insects will find those flowers. Your job is not to use insecticides, which kill them.
Seeding: Make sure that seeding is done when there is enough moisture in soil. Pick up some soil in your hand and try to squeeze water out of it. If you can squeeze a few drops with an effort, then it is o.k. If it crumbles, then it is too dry. Many seeds can be soaked in water for 24 hours and then planted after they have sprouted. You can buy seedlings or transplants very easily now from greenhouses and nurseries. Put your transplants in the garden soil towards evening. In this way it will be less stress on them. Don’t forget to use a prayer while putting the seeds or transplants in soil.
Watering: Maintain enough moisture in your soil. Once the plant is established, then the roots are able to extract water from a larger surface area. Water generally either early in the morning or in the late afternoon. If need arise you can apply fertilizer with irrigation water. A strong stream of water can be used to knock off any insects sitting on leaves, like aphids.
Fertilizing: What is needed to build up enough fertility in soil to begin with so that you may not have to add any fertilizer later on. But if you find that the plants do not have enough energy in them then fertilizers may be needed. When you buy fertilizers in bags, there are three numbers on them; for example, 20-20-20 or 20-10-10 or 28-14-14. The first number indicated the amount of total nitrogen, the second number is total amount of phosphates and third number is total Potash. These are three major nutrients, which plants need but they are not the only one. Nitrogen is needed for fast growth and color, phosphates are needed for root development and flower and seed and potash is needed for fruit filling and is involved with diseases resistance. Refer to sheet number 4 for managing fertilizers in your gardens.
Plant Management: Each plant is designed to grow at proper spacing and you should know about them. Crowding will cause disease problems and plants will be thin and spindly. For example most of the plants in cucumber family should get a spacing of 10 square feet/plant. It means if the distance between plants is 2 feet, then the row spacing should be five feet. Tomatoes need half of that spacing. Leafy and root vegetables can be gown at a one foot spacing. Plants like coriander, Fenugreek (Methi) can be grown in rows with seeds spaced at one inch. Carrots can be grown similarly at less spacing. Some plants will require support. Remember the principle that if you remove flowers, it will promote root activity. So early flowers set can be removed to promote plant establishment.
Weed Control: That will be your biggest challenge. Weeds are those plants which you did not plant but they “invited†themselves and weeds are efficient competitors. In a small garden remove them before they set seeds. Some weeds are highly edible and have medicinal value. For example weed called Purslane also called “kulfa†is very rich in certain fatty acids like lineolenic acid and good for health. Similarly dandelion roots are very good for liver cleansing. Amaranth is another weed “Athoo-Bathoo†which is very rich in iron and some other minerals. Using herbicides to kill these weeds should be last resort.
Insect Control: Many insects aphids, whiteflies, caterpillars of different types can attack your plants. It is best to keep away from applying insecticides unless it becomes absolutely necessary. Most of the information is available from local garden centers on what to use for what types of insects.
Harvesting: Each plant you are growing has its ideal time for harvest. Harvest when fruit is ready and tender. Wash thoroughly before eating. Keep them in fridge to extend shelf life. Remember that Hadith, share with other people. Many food banks accept vegetables like potatoes and carrots.
Some Pictures of Gardens: The following pictures were taken during a competition of judging the backyard gardens in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is a cold country where gardening is possible from May to September. So much can be grown during this short period of summer. Many vegetable can be stored and thus season is extended.
