We’ve being growing simple garden edibles in containers for some years now and while at times challenging, it’s also been very rewarding. Not everything we’ve tried has worked out; for example, the cucumbers we tried were not a variety we enjoyed, and our sugar snap peas and green beans didn’t grow as we had hoped. Sometimes it’s trial and error and figuring out what you are best at growing in the space available to you. Bahrains climate is harsh but our mild winter provides a window of opportunity for hobbyist gardeners like ourselves. And of course, we have the local famers market selling seasonal produce should all else fail.
The arrival of date season brings an abundance of fresh dates and many varieties of this delicious fruit are available in shops, markets and stalls across the Island. Being a bit of a food stalker, these photographs were taken at different times throughout the year and like the lemon tree, I wanted to share the incredible magic of mother nature.
February: Having date palms in the garden makes date season magical… witnessing the first cluster of flowers emerge (shown above) among the fronds of the female date palm… to the growing and ripening stages of this sweet-sticky delectable fruit.
A cut branch of male flowers containing pollen
Hand pollination of a date palm
Male date palms do not produce any fruit, however their flowers contain pollen which enable the female date palm to produce fruit when pollinated. March: In the photograph above hand-pollination is taking place… smearing male flowers (containing pollen) over the female flowers. Also tying a few strands of male flowers among the female flowers.
Pollinated fruit beginning to grow
Pruning a date palm
March: A couple of weeks after pollination fruit starts to form and will continue to grow, mature and ripen over a period of months!
Date palms and the growing fruit need pruning and tidying and the meager garden sheers will definitely not be up for the job… some special tools are definitely required. With his knowledge and years of experience with palm trees… Bu Ahmed arrives with his climbing harness and scythe… and this is where my gardening skills truly end!
Climbing harness for palm trees
Bare-foot and attached by a harness, Bu Ahmed climbs the palm tree, quickly pruning away sharp thorny spikes from the lower fronds and tidying its trunk… making it all look so effortless!
Tying cluster of un-ripe dates
May: Pulling and tying down the heavy laden branches with un-ripened fruit makes the fruit easier to reach when ripe and at the same time beautifying the tree.
Some thinning of the fruit clusters had been necessary and cutting away parts of the clusters encourage dates to reach maximumgrowth, also ensures better air-flow around the fruit. Thankfully nothing every goes to waste with a palm tree and the wheelbarrow full of cuttings with un-ripened fruit is used for cattle feed!
June: Different varieties of dates (mentioned in an earlier post) develop their own characteristic colours while ripening, shown in the photographs above and below.
July – August: Some dates have ripened (very quickly) and this is where all the sweetness begins… ! Most will be shared among family and friends, some enjoyed simply as they are, others used with cake and dessert recipes and some frozen for later use.
Gardening in Bahrain definitely poses some great challenges and if you are “noexpert” like me, then gardening can become quite exhausting at times! However, I do try my hand at keeping a few edibles in the garden such as herbs, lemons, limes (still waiting), dates, lemongrass and some baby tomatoes.
What I absolutely love about gardening and especially this time of year, is witnessing the first stages of growth… then watching that new beginningtransform into an edible culinary ingredient that has endless possibilities both in cooking and baking!
Two years ago I planted a lemon tree (which was quite big to begin with) into a very large pot and was very excited at the prospect of growing my own organic lemons! Sigh… last year I ended up with about five lemons! It was quite a painful sight, seeing lots of new buds (potential lemons) fall to the ground and realize that my efforts of successfully growing lemons was not to be! So now you know that this post is not going to be about“how to grow lemons”… but a glimpse into the new beginnings within the garden that sometimes we fail to notice as our busy lives consume our every waking hour. This year I am feeling more hopeful with each new stage of growth on my lemon tree! So take a moment, marvel and appreciate the life of a lemon…
Buds
The amount of buds growing on the lemon tree will determine the volume of fruit it produces… if of course they don’t fall… like mine did last year! Apparently you need to underwater at this stage.
Flowers
The buds of the lemon tree blossom and the flowers exude an intoxicating soft lemony perfume that fills the surrounding air…and what an amazing scent it is!
Ripening Fruit
The flower is in bloom and peeking out from its center is the developing lemon!
Lemons need plenty of water at this stage of growth so the fruit becomes full and juicy.
This was one of last years lemons which seemed to take so long to ripen… !
My quest to successfully grow lemons will continue! In the mean time, if anyone out there in cyber space is an expert on the subject of citrus trees I would love your advice!
You might like to try some recipes using lemons. Click on image for recipes!
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