Let Some Things Go To Seed
Created on 6/21/2009
I don’t know why exactly but I am letting my ‘Monstruoso’ Swiss chard go to seed in my potager. It’s not because it looks beautiful- the plant has formed multiple large stalks that are sprawling wildly. Each of those stalks has sprouted numerous stems that are holding the weedy looking flowers. It’s not because I’m guaranteed to get pure ‘Monstruoso’ seed. I’m fascinated, really. So I’m letting it stay- right between the basil and tomatoes.
Swiss chard is a biennial so it takes two years to complete its life cycle. This one survived my winter with the use of a glass cloche- another reason I’m letting it stay. I’m going to collect the seed and see what comes up next year. Evidently, in my quick online search, I see that Swiss chard can cross with other Swiss chards that are growing within a 1/4 of a mile. Hmmm… what are the chances that my neighbors have let their Swiss chard go to seed… slim. I hope I’ll get the same variety; ‘Monstruoso’, with its sweet, white stalks and large leaves has been great cooked with a little olive oil. I’ve harvested the leaves and stalks all year.
There are other plants I let go to seed in my garden. Flat leaf Italian parsley is one of them. It’s also a biennial that we treat like an annual. Sometimes a few survive in my garden- sometimes not. I consider myself lucky if some make it through the winter. The second year the plants use all their resources to produce flowers, so the leaves aren’t great for harvesting. The tiny white flowers look like Queen Anne ’s lace and attract beneficial insects. That’s flat leaf parsley in the photo, ready to flower- growing next to my lavender.
Sweet alyssum is another plant that reseeds readily. It also attracts beneficials; I let it reseed in my raised beds. It only grows a few inches high and is like a living mulch- which cuts down on weeding. And it’s free. Plants that reseed happily are plants I don’t have to buy.
Sometimes it’s serendipitous. I just found a tomato plant that came up on its own which means it likes the conditions in my garden. It has perfectly acclimated to my soil. It’s an ideal self selected match. I will save seeds from that tomato this year and plant it next. Tomatoes don’t tend to cross with other tomatoes so I’ll get whatever I planted last year- they come up true to seed. (I’m talking about heirloom, open pollinated tomatoes, not hybrid tomatoes.) I just wonder which one it was.
