A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Plants and Vegetables in the UAE

As it is rightly said “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning”, it’s time to take up a new endearing hobby “Gardening”.  We all love & crave greenery even though we all do not have green fingers. They say if you want to be happy for a lifetime, be a gardener. In gardening there are no mistakes, there is trial & error. While you must be struggling to understand which plants grow best in the UAE, here’s a beginner’s guide to ‘Grow Your Own Plants and Veggies’! 

No Villa, No Garden?

Whether you live in a villa or an apartment, if you gotta grow plants you gotta grow them. For people living in the UAE, be it a balcony, patio or backyard, there’s always a way to welcome greenery, sustainability and organic food. Create a small garden out there, save some bucks on the electronic air purifiers and place some natural purifiers around. Delve into organic gardening and grow yourself fresh vegetables & herbs.

Forget Exotic and Extravagance: Start small

Forget Karoo Rose or Zebra Cactus, start with basic, low maintenance plants. Bring home cherry tomatoes, basic kitchen herbs like mint, coriander, basil, thyme, curry leaves- ones you know you will use in your everyday cooking. The sprouting stage is the best time to buy these plants as you can see them grow rather than just purchasing full grown ones and placing in your garden. Still better would be to purchase the seeds, soil, fertilizers & pots and start from scratch to get the real thrill of sowing & harvesting.

Seasonal Plants

We’re all aware of the extreme weather conditions in the UAE and hence, we have to be aware of the months in which we sow the seeds for herbs and vegetables. To ensure proper fruition, season appropriate vegetables are your best bet. The best time to start growing greens and herbs is October and November.  Grow tomatoes, chilli, cucumber, pumpkins & almost all herbs during this time for a good produce.

However, warm weather can be put to great use too by growing hardy plants.  Time your planting wisely and sow your seeds just before the heat kicks in!

Pay attention not to under-water OR over-water Plants

With the onset of winter, plants don’t need as much water as they regularly do. Opt for watering your plants in the morning rather than in the evening as the fog at night can lead to excess of humidity and destroy the plants. 

If you have just potted your plants or the seeds are still in their germination stage, they will need to be watered every day. However, we have to be very careful not to overwater them or it can be detrimental.

In Summer, plants need a lot more care & a watering technique and the best would be to educate yourself through various sources about each plant that you plan to grow.

Go Sustainable

Not only is it important to have lush green freshness around, one must also introduce the concept of sustainability. Reusing yogurt tins is a great first step towards sustainable gardening. As a matter of fact, we get a lot of requests from parents to conduct workshops using yogurt tins their kids have collected. You can also use plastic bottles to sprout seeds.

Most of your gardening supplies, seeds, grow kits, soil, plants, pots & tools are available online or can be directly sourced from our Store at Sheikh Zayed Road. 

Need expert advice on how to plan your garden for the season? We’re just a buzz away! #045904333