PLANTWISE

Seedheads and Self-Sowing Surprises

should they stay or should they go?

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Aug 20, 2010 at 08:34AM 0 Comments

Some yellow flowers yet on this lettuce plant – but it’s already started to make little black seeds, which I can shake onto the garden now for early spring salads!

I’ve just gone on a garden rampage – my yard debris is picked up every other Friday morning and, at 6 this morning, I remembered today was the day. I tore out, clippers in hand, and started filling my big green bin with old, aphid-riddled cabbage, broccoli, kale and other cruciferous vegetables that I had failed to harvest over the course of this insanely busy spring and summer. Most of them were covered not only with aphids but fat green seed pods. But I didn’t care – I tossed them. I’ve never had any luck in my garden with self-sown kale or broccoli.

But as I went on my tearing-out spree, I did leave a scattered selection of bolted (flowering) vegetables standing rather than pulling them out. Why? Because I’ve learned from experience that some vegetable plants will reliably self-sow in my vegetable garden and come true from seed, producing a new generation of plants that tastes as good as the previous one.

Vegetable plants that self-sow easily include lettuce, mache, arugula, parsley, leafy mustard greens including mizuna and purple Osaka types.

These tasty cool-weather greens germinate in late winter, grow vigorously in early spring, and produce an abundance of delicious leaves from April through June or so. The best part is, they do this with scarcely any intervention from me. No need for me to harvest, clean or store the seeds -all I need to do is leave a few plants (sometimes even just one) to flower and set seed. Sometimes, when I see it’s ripe, I cut off the branches and deliberately shake the seed in the part of the garden where I hope it will grow; sometimes I just cut off all the messy side branches, leaving a tall, narrow plant with at least a few seed pods on top so the plant takes up minimal space while the seeds ripen – and then I leave it to do its own thing.

These pretty yellow flowers will lead to rafts of fantastically peppery, lacy-leafed wild arugula plants in my garden next spring. By far, this “Wild Italian” variety of arugula (originally from Wild Garden Seeds – correction: original seed from Botanical Interests Seed Co.) is the most prolifically self-sowing and, in my opinion, the tastiest.

Some plants are more challenging to grow from home-saved seed. These include melons, squash and cucumbers, chard, carrots and more. It isn’t impossible to get good seed from these plants – you just need to sow the right plant varieties in the first place, hand-pollinate them and sometimes isolate the plants from others like them so they don’t cross and produce weird-tasting progeny. And finally, you need to harvest, clean and store the seed over the winter. It’s interesting and fun but this year, I’m sticking to the easy method.

So the upshot is: pay attention to the possibilities in your garden – sometimes you can sit back and let Nature do what Nature does best: procreate. Think of yourself as your garden’s caretaker and shepherd and let some of the plants do their own thing. Watch for self-seeding opportunities with suitable plants and then keep an eye out for the seedlings come spring. You’ll find that self-sown plants are typically stronger and better adapted to your own garden over time.

If you’re hot to trot for any of these delicious greens, they can be sown in the garden now for autumn and possibly even winter enjoyment. As long as you keep them well watered during any hot weather we may have left, they should begin to produce for you within a month!

For more information about self-sowing food crops, read this from Wild Garden Seed, a Philomath company specializing in organic, locally adapted seed strains. Also, get more details here on saving seed for various vegetable varieties.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Vegetables, Seeds

Summer’s Here and the Time is Right – to Plant Veges!

Posted by: Kate Bryant on Jul 05, 2010 at 01:26PM 2 Comments

Flats of broccoli, kale and leek seed I planted last July – different seeds emerge at different rates.

I recently heard someone say it is “too late” to plant vegetables. I’m happy to report that isn’t true. There are plenty of vegetable seed and starts that can be planted this month for summer, fall and winter harvest. Here’s what lies in store for the month of July in the vegetable patch:

For starters, there are greens.

Greens
Most greens grow best in cool spring and fall weather but some will also do fine in our hot summers if you take special care with watering and maybe providing some afternoon shade.

Decent summer greens include arugula, basil, lettuce, some Asian greens like mustards and bok choi. Cilantro and spinach are harder to grow in summer, as they quickly bolt (go to seed and stop producing tasty leaves) but given enough afternoon shade and plenty of moisture, even they can work. Look for varieties described as “good for summer sowing” – breeders are producing more bolt-resistant varieties every year.

Tips: Plant under shade cloth or where plants receive solid morning sun and afternoon shade. Sow greens every two weeks, keep well watered and harvest promptly to prevent plants from getting stressed and bolting.

Warm-weather crops
In early July, you can still plant some warm-weather crops. So much depends on the weather (as this spring demonstrated) but there may be time for one more crop of corn and beans from seed – or plant starts. You could still get a decent crop if you plant starts of tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, squash, melons, cucumbers and pumpkins.

While you’ll harvest fewer fruit than if you’d planted earlier in Cozy Kotes, you could still get plenty if there’s a long, warm autumn. Plus, many folks planted their tomatoes out when it was still cold and their tomatoes just sat in misery for a month. Warm-weather crops planted in the balmy days of July could surpass those stunted from June’s unseasonably cold, wet conditions.

Tips:
First, choose fast-ripening varieties (labels usually say how many days to harvest) and smaller-fruited varieties, which ripen quicker. Keep well-watered, plant in rich soil in a warm or even hot spot, and fertilize well with organic fertilizer. If needed, cull the quantity of fruit on each plant to speed the ripening of existing fruit.

Autumn and winter crops
These vegetables will supply you with food in autumn, winter or early spring.

Good autumn crops to direct-sow in July include beet, bulbing fennel, and carrots. Through mid-July, sow green onions and cole crops (crucifers) like quick/early broccoli and cabbage. Slower growing Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, late cabbages and slow/over-wintering broccoli are best sown through mid-July – or buy starts if it’s getting to the end of July. In mid-July, also seed parsnips and parsley, both of which will overwinter. Later in the month through early August, sow peas, radishes, spinach, and Swiss chard for late fall and winter harvest.

Tips: In summer, it’s easiest to sow seed under shade cloth. You can also sow seed in pots or flats in bright but indirect light – they’re easier to keep watered and you can move them into the garden when they are a bit sturdier. Remember that root crops like beets and carrots should be direct-sown in the ground, as they do not transplant well.

Add a Comment »

Tags: Vegetables, Seeds