Perennial Herbs - Key for Pollinators

At this time of year, sitting in the garden and watching the varied amount of bees, hover flies, moths, butterflies and beetles is quite amazing.

I wish I knew my bees, but this little one went through each tiny trumpet. Flower clusters are no bigger than a nickel.

Helping them find pollen is key this time of year.

I find the most activity is in the perennial herb boarder.

Most culinary inclined gardeners prevent many herbs from flowering, unless to achieve seed harvesting in the late season. I however, allow many to go to flower and bolt in order to provide bees and other pollinators a chance to gather pollen (much needed now for overwintering preparations).

Don't under-estimate small flowers from herbs. Here is an assortment of perennial herbs that have tiny flowers that attract a lot of pollinator activity:

Lemon Balm

Mint

Spearmint

Summer Savory

 Oregano

Basil

(Although, basil is not usually perennial in my zone (5b), this one self seeds every year)

Onion

 Chives

Sage

 Coriander

With multiple self seeded plantings in a season, this late bloom (albeit tiny flowers) attracts pollinators like crazy.

Please let them bolt and flower. Within 5 minutes of snapping shots, I captured about 4 different pollinators on varied flowers. 'Bee' amazed at what you'll see.

When all the herbs have a few stems that are allowed to flower at once, it's a sheer delight to hear all the buzzing go round.

September - Time to collect seeds

September is the month where you get a true bumper crop of selection when it comes to seed. Last year's harsh winter claimed many casualties in the garden. Collecting seeds now can prevent the loss of many plants that self seed readily.

Yesterday I managed to collect seeds from:

Nasturtium (please don't pull off the seed pod, if they naturally come free with a little effort, then it's the right time to collect).

Coriander. I let these dry completely on the bolted growth. Half I usually leave overwinter to allow natural reseeding, half for culinary purposes. Taking a few in case this winter kills them off.

Don't eat all your snow peas. Allow some to go to seed. Wait to collect once the pod goes yellow.

I love this allium. I rather not divide this young plant yet. Instead I would like to try and...

grow from seed next spring. Seeds are now dry, still encased in the pod.

Hemerocallis is so easy to grow from seed. Be sure to collect the pod, not the flower bud. Note the difference.

One of the easiest perennials to grow from seed is this common Coreopsis. Just allow the seed pod to dry completely on the plant before collecting.

Once some seed begins to fall off, or eaten by birds, you know this is the right time to collect Rudbeckia seeds and...

...Echinacea seeds. Please leave some for the birds. Yellow Finch love them. They provide fabulous winter interest in large clumps.

With Gaillardia, I leave many pods alone for birds too. Because of that, sometimes nature does a better job in plant production than I do. Come late spring, I find baby Gaillardia all at the base of this plant. But just in case we have a tough winter like last, I've taken a few for safe measure.

With Common Rue (Ruta graveolens), I deadhead and harvest the seed, so it doesn't seed itself everywhere. This is a tough one to die off. However, collecting the seeds now gives me a chance to give seedlings in spring as gifts. So easy to propagate.

With this Siberian Iris, I enjoy leaving their seed pods for winter interest. Thankfully, the pod stems are rigid and sturdy enough that you can bend them over and collect without taking the attractive seed pods off.

The best way I find to make sure you don't get debris mixed in with seed for storing, is to just empty the pods onto a sheet of white paper. You can lightly blow off the unwanted bits and the seeds remain to be packaged away.

I hate waste and I learned this from my Mother. If you get return envelopes from your utility bills, save them by:

1. Licking the envelope closed. Then cut the envelope in half.
2. Cut about 1/2 inch away on one side of the newly cut area to make a fold over flap for the new envelope.
3. Flip over and crease.
4. Be sure to write the name of the plant and date ahead of time before inserting seed. Tape closed.

Store in a cool, dry, dark place. Ready for March (indoor propagation) or May (sown right outdoors).

When Cilantro becomes Coriander

For some reason, I always associate Coriandrum sativum; the green leafy portion of the herb as cilantro and its dried seed as coriander. Yet, essentially they are interchangeable. I used this association to come up with my blog entry title. Hope it doesn't confuse folks.

It's late August and I've basically run out of usable foliage for fresh leaf harvesting off my cilantro plant. Here you can see it has bolted and started to produce seeds.

Wish my photo was better, but I love their larger 4 petals flowers fanned over a smaller star shaped florets.

Once the flowers wither, these plump seeds arrive. I plan leaving them on the stems to dry so I can collect some for re-seeding next year and some for the kitchen.

In desperation, I've used this ferny dill bolting foliage in cooking. It's just as tasty as the parsley shaped leaves. When it bolts like this, unfortunately there isn't much to go round.

I used to compost my cilantro once it bolts, but I've seen bees and butterflies enjoy the white flowers and I can't wait to harvest organic seed and use them in some Asian meals. Going to let them dry and harden them on the plant and enjoy harvesting the seeds in October...

Update:

...Well, it's now October and here are the seeds:

 

Perhaps not the largest, and highest volume, but enough to seed for a crop next year and enough for a meal or two.

Have a look at my previous post on Cilantro/Coriander.

Cilantro (Coriander) from grocer....planted on.

Having had a craving for Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls today,  I stopped at my local supermarket on the way home to pick up some fresh cilantro. A fresh batch was just set out and I was delighted to see healthy, crisp roots still attached. Then my green fingers thought - these are perfect planting specimens!

Not only did I get the cilantro I needed for my dinner, but I now have an edge on getting a batch started for the summer.

I never start plants by seed, since I only have one full sunny window. Sniff, sniff, as I wish I could.

I just end up buying plant-lets at the garden centre which can be costly. Since this spring season has been so unusual temperature wise, I've been hastily waiting. I'm glad I didn't buy any cilantro. Instead, now I have plants and herb bliss in the making today!

First I took a good look at the bundle and separated the good bunches from the not so good ones. Then I rinsed them with cold water.

I then took each plant and took off the outer bulky stalks that are perfect for my recipe but too much bulk for my starter idea.  I left 2 to 3 stems of the new growth in the middle (having to remove the outer stalks sometimes by scissors, if the centre was thin).

I found one of my herb pots and filled it with 1 part compost and 1 part potting soil (leaving 2 inches from the rim). I poked holes with my finger and then gently wedged the cilantro roots down. 





Any leafy bits that looked wilted or that looked weak, I cut back.  This reduces stress on the planted roots. You've got to remember, this cilantro had a lengthy travel from the where it was grown to my kitchen. Many leaves and stems would of been bruised or damaged.



I didn't firmly pack down the soil, I watered it well until I found the soil settled nicely, making each stalk stand rigid.

I managed to get about 12 stalks in this 8 inch pot. Not bad for having paid $1.49 for the entire bundle. Hopefully in a few weeks, I can pick more fresh Cilantro!