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Winter in Qatar is a time when weather conditions are most benign and optimal for gardening. Whether it is flowering plants, fruits, or vegetables, almost everything will take root. We talked to some of Qatar's gardeners part of the Gardening Club in Qatar and took a look at what they grew through this winter season. Lezima Gomes reports.
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Michael Mackenzie, a Scot, who has been in Qatar for the last six years, grew three varieties of tomato, cucumber, capsicum, three varieties of chillies, two varieties of zucchinis, eggplant, pak choi and herbs. Last year, he grew herbs and tomatoes."In Scotland, gardening is very popular at home, both flowers and vegetables are popularly cultivated," he said.
But unlike Scotland, it is really difficult to cultivate in Qatar, he said. Speaking about the challenges, he said,"It is difficult to get good quality potting mix and good affordable organic fertiliser other than animal waste from the wholesale market. It is also difficult to get a good variety of seeds from shops, so I buy mine online,"
He further added that growing in pots is also a bit difficult."It is almost impossible to grow during the summer. Advising budding gardeners, he said,"Start to sow seeds late in the summer and try growing herbs to get you started."
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Zack from USA has been living in Qatar for the last three years. He started his journey with online gardening research."I learned how to garden on YouTube, and have been gardening for one year now," he said.
He said that he has successfully grown various leafy vegetables such as spinach, bok choi, and lettuce, various herbs such as basil and cilantro, and bell peppers."It has become difficult to find specific herbs, so I researched the best ways to grow herbs indoor, under artificial light, and I began my journey into hydroponics," he said.
"I discovered a video on a very simple hydroponic system called 'the Kratky method', which requires no air or water pumps or fancy drainage systems. I gave it a shot and now we constantly have 12 heads of lettuce, various herbs and peppers growing at all times," he said.
Zack, who was brought up in Southern California, said that back home, they are blessed to have year-round optimal conditions for gardening. He nurses aspirations to have a homestead and live off the land in the future.
Speaking about some of the challenges he faced while gardening, he said,"I don't grow outdoor, but in the summer it is challenging with the humidity. I needed to source lights that can sustain life for plants, but wanted to keep costs as low as possible.
"It was a month or two of trial and error, and my first lettuce crop failed because of various imbalances between nutrients, ph levels, and light strength, but I eventually sourced everything and now I know exactly where to go to find the supplies I need to expand my garden."
Some tips for budding gardeners?"The Kratky method of hydroponics is perhaps the simplest method of gardening in existence- even more than soil. Because no soil is used to grow my crops I have no bugs or pests to manage as the roots are constantly submerged in nutrient-rich water. I check water levels about once a week. It's extremely low maintenance."
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Sabeen Siddique a Pakistani, who has been living in Qatar for the last eight years, said he was looking for ways to start gardening when she stumbled upon the group that helped him begin his journey."As we are not experienced gardeners, we learned by trial and error. So, it's always good to hear from others about their experiences and ask for helpful tips," he said.
Siddique has now successfully grown eggplants, tomatoes, papaya, lemon, mint, coriander, chillies and different flowers, and is planning to grow some more vegetables this time.
Siddique has no prior experience of gardening but he has successfully growing fruits and vegetables in Qatar for the last six years. He said,"The best time to start sowing seeds is October."
Advice to budding gardeners?"Locally grown vegetables are best to start with. And I really believe if you have direct sunlight coming into your garden, then try to keep one portion covered with the green net, which we see in all nurseries for growing plants," he said.
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Sandrine a French national living in Qatar since 2012, loves gardening and did the same even back home in France. This year, she grew tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, eggplants, mangoes and sweet potatoes successfully though her attempt to grow zucchini failed.
She said"There is only a small variety of seeds here in Qatar. So I mostly buy seeds in France."
She said that she would like to make her own compost but since it requires a lot of time and care, she chooses not to. Advising budding gardeners, she said,"Tomatoes are the easiest to cultivate. They don't need much care."
Speaking about the biggest challenge ahead, she said it would definitely have to be the season ahead when cultivating would be really difficult.
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28/02/2018
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