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| Volunteers in the Garden Make an Easy Crop May 8, 2008 08:34:02 Below is a pic of a patch of collards that have come up on their own this spring. Last summer I allowed a row of collard greens to mature and go to seed. Once they were done I tilled them all in. We had a nice bunch of collards last fall from that seed. I did not expect to have another bunch of seed germinate this spring. 
The yellow flowers in the foreground of the pic are on a collard plant that acutally wintered over and began to regrow this spring. There were a couple of dozen of those and that was really a surprise. I did nothing to protect them from the cold over the winter and did not expect any of last falls crop to regrow. So, these plants are already blooming while the new seedlings are only a couple of inches tall. This is an easy way to get a crop of collards but it is also a good way to get a bunch of weeds because along with the collards going to seed there are invariably some weeds that seed also and come up right along with the crop. Also, you have the problem of growing the same crop in the same spot in repeated seasons which is something that is not a good idea. The same crop uses the same minerals and nutrients from year to year so you might just be draining the soil of those nutrients. Also, having the same crop in the same spot in repeated seasons also adds to any insect or disease problems associated with that crop. Bug lays eggs where it is and new favorite crop comes right back up where the little hatchlings are. The same with diseases, if there are any soil borne diseases. Well, we have had some of the collards for meals and will have a few more but I do not thing I will allow this crop to mature and go to seed again in this spot. Volunteers make easy gardening and you might as well take advantage of it if it happens. Comment on this article | |