TOP (L-R): JEFF CARTER | JULIE HARLOW | BOTTOM: ALINE - ADOBE STOCK INTENSIVE GARDEN THE VOLUNTEERS: SEVEN CROPS THAT SEED THEMSELVES ARTICLE BY JEFFREY CARTER When I think of volunteers in our food garden, I first think of springtime visits to the local nursery and Marie insisting on picking up a couple dill seedlings, they are a favourite of hers. I grumble at this point–in what I hope is a good- natured manner–and offer the suggestion that once we return home and take a good look, there will be a host of little volunteer dills already sprouted. The trick to avoid this pitfall is to look in the garden for volunteers before you leave for the garden centre. A volunteer plant is a plant that grows on its own without being intentionally planted. They usually grow from seeds left in the soil from the previous year’s crop, or they are dropped by birds and animals. Knowing how to distinguish volunteers like dill from among the other emerging plants is also a key to taking advantage of volunteers. The first part of the plant to emerge on the stem are the cotyledons. In the example of dill, the cotyledons are soon followed by feathery true leaves. This is called the four-leaf stage and before this stage it is harder to distinguish between other early emerging plants. The most likely place to look for dill is where it was located the previous year. A dill plant, allowed to mature, produces an abundance of seeds to germinate where they fall or volunteer the following spring. Once seedlings are identified, you may have a choice. Either let the volunteers grow where they are or dig them up and move them to a more desirable location. Dill volunteers transplant quite easily. Parsnip also generates a great deal of seed, though as a biennial species, the seed is only produced in the second year of growth. When I harvest parsnips in the fall, there is a good chance I’ll miss a few. The root left in the ground will regrow the following spring and if left will continue to grow prodigiously, often to a height of four or five feet. The flowers on these ‘parsnip trees’ are attractive to insect volunteers, and the seed can be collected, saved, and resown. Parsnips sprouting ‘voluntarily’ from seed, can be provided with space and allowed to grow in the same manner as you would a dill volunteer, but only in the location where they have sprouted. If moved, the delicate root system will likely be compromised. 7 www.SmallFarmCanada.ca Birds (such as the finch) forage among grasses, helping disperse seeds that can hitch a ride on their feathers or pass through their digestive systems to sprout elsewhere. Common examples of garden plants that volunteer next season include tomatoes, squash, melons, sunflowers, various herbs and some flowers like alyssum often appear as volunteers.
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