Photo Diary: Planting Sweetcorn & Courgettes With Eco-Mum

As-salam`alaykum eco-dudes,
Alright? Good, hamdulillah.

Today's episode of eco-muslimness is brought to you by eco-mum, who helped me "organise" the vegetable planting regiment.

As it hit mid-June, the seedlings I had grown had fully bloomed and were ready to flower and fruit. They needed to move out to open air and so we shifted about a hundred plants in trays from the greenhouse...

...to the vegetable plot. Eco-mum wanted the plants grouped by age and requirements so as to plant the right veg in the best pH soil and conditions. I would have just plonked them in all anyhow, I mean, plants are plants, right? Nahi* (Urdu for 'no'), said eco-mum, "plants, like people need personalised care, space and affection in order to grow and learn".

So I had to re-organise the plants.

We planted peppers, peas, tomatoes, mustard, spinach, lettuces, carrots, runner beans. Sweetcorn and courgettes are on offer today. We've already snipped out the large courgettes now in Ramadan and had them for iftar meals. Fabulously sweet, masha'Allah.

The sweetcorn had outgrown their paper cups. The yellowing tips meant they needed more room, hence the move to outside.

Eco-mum demonstrated how to space the corn out in boxed rows for plenty of space to branch out.

Our soil had recently been malnourished because of a new company that provided chalky compost. I made dua - hopefully the sweetcorn will grow tall, insha'Allah.

Altogether there are 20+ corn plants in our garden. Anymore and we'd have to hire a field. I recognise the corn plant by its thin, tall papyrus-like leaves but I stuck an ID badge in just in case they did a runner.

Of course eco-mum eventually let me have a go planting the plants that I grew from seed. Dig 5-6 inches deep, detangle the roots, place plant upright and cover in soil. Ta-da.

Next were the courgettes. They require less space in between and resilient, moist soil.

When these babies sprout nearer the ground, each vegetable will need a resting place to grow bigger. I will have to regularly check each one to ensure there aren't any obstacles.

The finished courgette and sweetcorn plots - eco-mum borders them to create a vegetable-apartheid. We temporarily laid down planks of wood for a path to walk on. A good day's work, alhamdulillah.

After all that, I was covered in mud and had to de-welly. Looks like a crime scene, doesn't it.

Peace and eco-jihad,
Zaufishan, The Eco Muslim.

More:
Tending To My Vegetables
Eco Muslim Photo Diary: Growing Veggies
Grow Your Own Tomatoes
5 Tips On Healthy Fasting During Ramadan