Once pollination and fertilization have occurred, seeds start to grow in the ovary. Meanwhile, the flower withers away as the ovary swells and the seeds within it ripen until they are ready to release. With annuals, the plant dies after the ripe seeds are released.

Angiosperms

Life Cycle. The plant starts life as a seed, which germinates and grows into a plant. The mature plant produces flowers, which are fertilised and produce seeds in a fruit or seedpod. The plant eventually dies, leaving seeds which germinate to produce new plants.

Seed production is triggered when environmental factors signal that the growing season is coming to an end. After producing seed, there is no need for the plant to continue producing flowers or expend energy on developing vegetables, so plants either die or go dormant.

How to stop veggies and herbs bolting to seed

1. So what causes this bolting to seed, and how can you prevent it?
2. Plant seedlings at a cooler time of year.
3. Check the sunlight hours the plant needs for optimum growth.
4. Give early bolting plants a little more shade as the weather warms.
5. Plant at the correct spacing.
6. Mulch heat-sensitive herbs and vegetables.

Bolting is when plants produce a hearty, nutrient-gobbling flowering stem before harvest. This occurs as a natural attempt to produce seeds – a means of survival when a plant is put under stress and feels that it is in danger. For this reason, many gardeners will also call this dreaded behavior “going to seed”.

Use bolt-resistant varieties for the earliest sowings of annual vegetables that respond to increasing day length: spinach, lettuce, beetroot, rocket etc. Resistant varieties are also a good option for biennials like onions and carrots that are sown very late in winter/early in spring.

One of the biggest nuisances in the summer vegetable garden is bolting – when crops put on a vertical growth spurt to flower and set seed before the vegetables are ready for harvest. The result is inedible, bitter-tasting leaves or poor-quality produce with little that can be salvaged.

Bolting is induced by plant hormones of the gibberellin family, and can occur as a result of several factors, including changes in day length, the prevalence of high temperatures at particular stages in a plant’s growth cycle, and the existence of stresses such as insufficient water or minerals.

It turns out it’s not an anomaly. Often, a flowering carrot is a sign that the plant has bolted and will not be good to eat.

Another way of telling that your carrots are ready to harvest is by looking at the diameter of the carrot. If it is between ¾ to an inch in circumference, they are ready to pull. Some gardeners like pulling the carrots when they are immature as well for roasting or adding whole to garnish salads.

Carrots left in the ground too long will be touch, woody, and may crack. Check roots during storage and remove those that begin to deteriorate.

Carrots are best harvested for eating during the first year of growth, before going to seed. After they go to seed the plant uses the sugars stored in the carrots to develop the seeds. The carrots become tough, woody, and tasteless.

14 to 21 days

Does one carrot seed produce one carrot? Yes, one carrot seed produces one plant, and as carrots are the edible root of the plant, one seed produces one carrot.

To plant a whole carrot in the ground to grow a carrot plant, just place the carrot into the soil about 1/2 inch below the surface. Plant in full sun in light, well-draining soil. The seeds can then be saved for next growing season and planted to possibly grow new carrot plants.

When saving carrot seeds during the second flowering year, allow the seed heads to fully ripen on the plant. When the flower heads begin to brown and become dry, carefully cut the heads and place them in a small paper bag and then leave them alone until the drying is complete.

Set your pieces of carrot tops on the papers, and in a few days, you’ll see the roots spread. Keep the paper wet. Once the new plants have rooted well, your kids can plant them in soil. The new plants should show growth pretty quickly and your lucky little gardeners will be delighted with their reward.

Carrot tops are totally edible themselves, and taste faintly of carrot while also having some bitter notes and a slight natural saltiness.

The “hairs” are sprouted roots. As long as the carrots are firm, you can peel them clean and use them. Once they get soft or slimy, toss them and get fresh ones. Is it safe if I eat my refrigerated baby carrots whose “best if used by” date passed 5 days ago?

Carrots will not grow without the tops. Even with the tops, it usually takes 2 – 3 weeks to show leaf. To help your carrot grow quicker, sow radish seeds in spaced out rows close to the carrot.

Cut the greens off the top after harvest to about ¼ – ½ inches above the shoulder. This will help the carrot to keep longer as the greens can take moisture from the root.

Carrots need warm temperatures in order for the seeds to germinate—around 70 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer. That’s why carrots are slow to germinate in cooler spring temperatures. However, carrots need cool temperatures for developing sweet, fat roots—around 40 degrees F.

10 Great Plants for Shade

• Heuchera (Coral Bells)
• Lamium Maculatum (Dead Nettle)
• Tiarella cordifolia (Foamflower)
• Pulmonaria (Lungwort)
• Astilbe.
• Digitalis (Foxglove)
• Hakonechloa (Japanese forest grass)
• Primula (Primrose)

Shade gardens: 10 planting ideas and design tips for success

1. Assess the areas of shade in your garden.
2. Check your soil type.
3. Choose the right plant for the right place.
4. Use focal foliage and evergreen plants for shade.
5. Choose perennial shade plants.
6. Add some shade loving flowering plants.
7. Use bedding plants for shade.
8. Add containers to create impact.