Easter gardening

He is risen! As Catholics, we celebrate Easter as an important season in the Church as it signifies the Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Easter also marks the end of the Lenten period, and congratulations for those who would have tried the Lenten gardening challenge. For those of you who did not, I hope you use this beautiful Easter holiday period to catch up on some gardening.

Recently, as of April, Trinidad and Tobago has been experiencing a notable increase in both dengue fever and malaria cases. This is raising public health concerns and prompting enhanced surveillance and vector control efforts. We haven’t even entered the wet season yet and when we do, these numbers will rise as mosquitoes will have the optimal conditions for breeding.

We can take several measures within our homes and communities to help in reducing mosquito populations, and one effective solution is by growing a few plants within your garden or around your home that naturally repel them.

Apart from citronella, basil, mint, rosemary, and marigolds are excellent and highly efficient in repelling these pesky insects.

In addition, basil, mint and rosemary can be used as an ingredient, while marigolds can add beauty to your landscaping. All seedlings can be obtained at your nearest seedling shop and seed packs are available year-round. If you are using seeds, make sure to follow the germination instructions on the packaging of the seeds for high germination rates.

For the seedlings, transplanting can be done directly into your garden beds or your garden pots. Basil requires full sun, around 6 to 8 hours daily and soils which are well-draining and rich in organic matter.  You can lightly fertilise every 3 to 4 weeks (compost or diluted organic fertiliser). For further care, pinch off flower buds to encourage more leaf growth and cut above a leaf pair to keep plant bushy when harvesting.

Mint requires partial to full sun (3 to 6 hours daily) and moist well-draining soils similar to basil. Mint is very easy to propagate and grows very well with or without fertiliser.

As for rosemary plants, they require full sun (6 to 8 hours daily) and well-draining, sandy or loamy soils. When watering, allow the top inch of soil to dry out. You can fertilise your plants monthly.

Rosemary hates soggy roots, so be careful not to over water. Prune regularly to keep bushy and prevent woodiness.

Marigolds are just as easy to grow. They require full sun (6 to 8 hours daily), well-draining and moderately fertile soils and moderate watering. When caring for your marigolds, remove spent blooms regularly to encourage more flowers, water at the base to avoid fungal diseases on leaves, and mulch around the base to retain moisture and suppress weeds.

Marigolds do not require too much fertiliser as this leads to more leaves but fewer flowers. Marigold contains pyrethrum, a compound used in many insecticides.

Basil, mint and rosemary emit a pungent scent that deters mosquitoes, even without crushing the leaves. For best results, crush the leaves of the basil, mint and rosemary to release more of the repellent oils, and if mosquitoes are plentiful in and around your home, place these plants near windows, doorways, and seating areas to keep mosquitoes away.

I wish everyone a blessed Easter and happy gardening!

Send questions to rayannaboodram@hotmail.com