Gone to seed. Not a very positive expression, is it? To most people, it means deterioration, letting things slide, and a lack of discipline and management. Who wants to ‘go to seed’?
Your plants do, actually. And it can be pretty good for your garden.
Some gardeners say they deliberately let their vegetable gardens go to seed, because this is a natural process and a part of the plant’s life cycle that allows them to produce seeds.
You’ll know your vegetable plants have gone to seed after you harvest, when you see flowers growing from the plant. It’s also called ‘bolting’, and something some gardeners try to avoid.
Your vegetables, and other edible plants are now past their prime for eating when they reach this stage of growth, and they’ll be tough or bitter. If you cut back your basil plant you can delay the process, and get more edible leaves.
It’s a natural process
– part of the plant’s life cycle.
There are some plants you can allow to go to seed so that they will sprout and produce a new generation of transplants. Parsley is a good plant to allow to seed. Let your mature parsley plants drop seeds, and it will become a permanent bed. And if you allow your coriander plants to go to seed, they’ll produce wonderful, fresh green berries that make a good seasoning – they’re great in stir fry.
So resist the urge to ‘tidy up’ your scraggly herbs like rocket, basil and coriander, and go with the flow.
