After-Dinner Gardening (2)

Growing Pomegranates from Seed

Although pomegranates can be messy to get into, they are quite a bit of fun to eat. Our children love the peel away the pith and remove the seeds, which can be eaten or else spit out once the juicy arils have been removed (these being the tasty part). The first time I tried pomegranate was in elementary school, where one of my classmates would bring one to school to share while they were in season and available at the local A & P.

Instead of cutting straight through the middle of a pomegranate to access the seeds, it is best to make a small cut near the bottom of the fruit, otherwise known as the calyx end (where the brown tuft is), and then to use your fingers to pry open the various sections inside the fruit, eating or removing the seeds as you go. We love pomegranate as a snack--although make sure you that no one wears their best clothes, particularly if they are white. On occasion, we also like to remove the seeds and eat them in salads. The crunch and delicate flavour, as well as the colour, make this one of our favourite additions to a chef’s salad or a plate of baby spinach.

Throughout the years, I have tried growing pomegranates several times, with varying degrees of success. One of the best ideas from Langer’s book is to grow them in groups, so that each long thin stem becomes part of a larger grouping that resembles a healthy shrub. In their natural conditions in the desert, pomegranates can grow to be large bushes or small trees, although in the indoor environment you provide for them, they will most likely turn out to be small shrubs.

Keep the leaves dry, and keep pomegranates away from areas that are home to many other plants, since these areas will be more humid—and pomegranates prefer dry conditions. Along with the potting mix, you might also add some sand to replicate the desert conditions that pomegranates prefer. One thing we have often overlooked is the need to fertilize regularly. Although we have kept our pomegranates in a very sunny location, we have also on occasion (thinking they were desert plants) let them dry out too much. You can tell you have been doing this if the leaves look dry and start to curl--the plant may even drop some of its leaves. Usually you will be able to coax the pomegranate plant back into health, as we have been able to do. We also try to label each pot, so that we know if the seeds have come from a special holiday meal. This adds to the fun for us, as well.