Harvesting Seeds for Next Season
In one of our articles, we talked about plant life cycles. Before discussing harvesting, the stages of a plant's life should be discussed.
The first stage of a plant's life is the germination stage, which was discussed in detail in 'Preparing Your Seeds'. Next comes the seedling stage, the stage right after germination when your plants are still tiny. Often this is the stage of replanting. After this stage, the plant continues to grow to a mature plant.
Herb gardeners cannot wait till their plants mature because this is the time that the herb leaves and stalks can be harvested for using. Some gardeners harvest the leaves of the plant slowly, as it grows, but may choose to wait till the plant is mature. To harvest your herb plant for its herbs, pick out the number of leaves or stalks you need from the plant. Be sure not to over-harvest, though. Do not leave the plant bare because the leaves of a plant are where photosynthesis takes place, and without this the plant will have no food. The mature stage is usually the longest stage of life for most plants.
The next stage is the flowering stage, which usually happens mid-summer. When most herb plants begin to flower, their leaves change taste. Some plants turn bitter, while others turn bland. This is because the plant is now focusing all of its energies into producing flowers. If your herb plant is being grown for the harvesting of flowers or petals, you can pick the flowers out once they have bloomed. If it is not being grown for its flowers, and you want to keep the flavor of the leaves, nip the flowers as soon as you see the buds. This will force the plant to direct its energies towards the leaves, and your herb's flavor will remain.
When your plant reaches its flowering stage, it is on its way to the end of its life cycle. Flowers appear in order for seeds to be created and fertilized so that the plant can reproduce itself. A plant that has completed its process of fertilization will begin to shed its flowers, or the petals will start falling off. As the petals fall away, the seeds or the seed pods will be revealed.
If you are gathering seeds for culinary purposes, you can harvest seeds from any of the plants that have completed their fertilization process. If you are harvesting seeds for next year's planting season, choose seeds from what you know are the strongest plants in your garden. Or if a plant had a particularly sweet or desired flavor, gather the seeds from this plant. This will assure you that you are harvesting good worthwhile seeds for next year.
Page Two: How to Harvest Your Seeds (Harvesting Seeds for Next Season continued)
