Grow your own

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Zayne Sinclair’s business has its roots in the pandemic gardening boom, but he hopes widespread interest in home-grown vegetables will turn out to be a permanent part of our culture.

Sinclair, 19, started Sinclair’s Seed Sowing in 2020, to provide service to residents wanting to grow their own food while grocery store hours were limited during lockdown.

Since then, demand for his vegetable gardening business has continued to grow – and we’re all the healthier for it.

“There was a big stigma around agriculture a few years ago,” Sinclair says. “A lot of farms didn’t really get respect.

“But the pandemic has shined a light on the importance of organic and sustainable food growing. It made people realise how important it is to grow your own food. It was very difficult when you couldn’t go to the grocery store every day.

“Now, more and more people are questioning where their food is coming from.

“When you grow fresh out of the garden, there’s no carbon footprint. You can go outside and pick your own fresh vegetables. And they taste the best, that’s indisputable.”

While Bermuda has a proud farming history dating back to its early settlement in the 17th century, recent generations have relied on imported food.

Sinclair recalls how the island went months without bananas in 2020 due to pest problems with importations.

“When we rely on those ships to bring in our fresh products, all it takes is for one small thing to go wrong and we have serious problems,” he says.

“Remember when we didn’t get bananas? That caused chaos. Imagine if that happened with flour. It would be utter mayhem.”

Sinclair’s love for gardening began when he was just eight months old and spent time on the farm with his father in Jamaica, learning to grow mango, ackee and cherries.

“I was always going to school with a thermos flask full of vegetables,” he says.

Sinclair’s Seed Sowing is now part of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation’s Enterprise Programme, which coaches fledgling businesses and gives them networking opportunities.

Sinclair helps clients with their gardens on a weekly basis and offers consulting services.

“Working sustainably is wholesome and fulfilling,” he says.

“There’s nothing like being outside on this lush island, getting to work with people to solve problems and provide a service for people that they thoroughly enjoy.”

You don’t need to have spent years on a farm to get the gardening bug, however.

“Everyone has a green thumb –even if they don’t realise it,” Sinclair says.

He advises beginners to take advantage of the Bermuda Government’s free gardening courses or get help from local gardeners like himself, or the Bermuda Farmers and Gardeners Facebook page.

“You get out what you put in. You literally reap what you sow,” he says.

“You put the time and effort in and you will definitely get it back with all those tasty vegetables you will produce. It’s fun. Go outside with your family, enjoy the process.”

Zayne Sinclair’s top tips for starting your own vegetable garden:

• Find a good spot with ample sunshine, protection from sea breeze, some shade. Make it at least eight inches deep so the roots can spread out and get nutrients.

• Plant the right vegetables in season. In May, according to The Garden Club of Bermuda, that means beans, cucumber, okra, pumpkin, radish, squash, sweet potato and tomato. In June, plant beans, cucumber, squash and tomato. In July, beans carrots and tomato.

• Get compost and fertiliser from garden centres.

• Research the best time to water each plant, carefully prune dead leaves and remove weeds regularly.