Climbing nasturtiums | Photos by the writer
This is the time of year when, for a variety of reasons, some green vegetables suddenly decide to ‘bolt’, with lettuce, Swiss chard/leaf beet, mustards, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and spinach being prime examples.
By ‘bolt’ we mean that when temperatures soar and if they are short of nutrients, are short of water or have reached the end of their productive life, these greens suddenly show rapid central growth and eventually turn into flowers.
What happens is that they are determined to preserve their own species. So, first they reach for the sky, then send up, often, very tall flower spikes and then, once the small flowers have been pollinated, they produce thousands of seeds which ripen over the weeks to come.
Seeds can be harvested from all heritage plants and is a very satisfying thing to do
If the seed from which the original plants were grown is ‘heritage seed’, completely natural and not interfered with by man, it is wonderful to harvest the new crop of seed (from the best and strongest plants only) so that you have a continuous supply of free seed. If, however, the original seed was F1 Hybrid or similar, then there is no point in harvesting seed as the resultant plants are unlikely to be up to standard.
Harvesting seeds for future crop security is a very satisfying thing to do and seed can be harvested from all heritage plants, be they fruit, flowers, vegetables or herbs.
Give it a try and enjoy the results.
SUGGESTIONS FOR SEEDS TO SOW IN JUNE
In the flower garden: The heat certainly slows down us gardeners and reduces the variety of flowers we can start off from seed, but sowing, albeit less, must go on if there is to be autumn and winter colour in our gardens. Here are a few suggestions to get to grips with this month and please do not be afraid to experiment with more.
Zesty zinnias are a tried and trusted flower, in a multitude of forms, heights and colours that can be sown, either directly in the garden or in seed trays/pots right now. Kept moist, they germinate and grow rapidly and burst into bloom in no time at all and, planted in clumps, make an eye-catching statement of the bravest kind. Then there are easy-to-grow Tagetes in all of their orange, yellow, rust, burnt amber, deep gold variations, combinations and frills; faithful cosmos are an absolute must as are rudbeckia, gaillardia, tithonia, gompherena, gerbera, coleus, balsam, matricaria and kochia which, when grown, resemble miniature cypress trees in blazing autumnal hues, hence their common name of burning bush.