Flower Food

When it's time to take plants out and put new seeds in, I often feel torn. Many of the insects I want to encourage in the garden like hover flies, small wasps, and bees like the flowers of veggies. But in most gardens, lettuce, bok choy, turnip, winter greens, etc. are not allowed to go to flower. In one of my beds the mizuna greens have gone to flower. Yesterday while watering the new seed bed I saw so many honey bees working these yellow flowers. In Feb. there is very little in flower. If the acacias were older, they would be in flower right now. Maybe next year. The red filaree, which is a "weed", is also in flower here and there and the bees like it too.

So instead of pulling the flowering greens, I am going to let them go a little longer and try and work around them. I finally pulled the chard from last spring. It acted almost like a perennial since it has been in the garden for months, the frost didn't even kill it. But chard and spinach both have some acids in their leaves which for some people are hard to digest; I am one of those people. For dark greens, Kale is a better choice for me.

So not only is it a good idea to leave some sections of your garden wild with weeds, it is also a good idea to let some of your plants in the garden that don't usually go to seed, go to seed. This way you can provide habitat and food for many insects and birds. Not to mention if you are industrious you may collect the seeds for future plantings! win/win.