Growing Without Planting Seeds

THe past several years, I grew collard greens in my backyard. While in the garden today, I noticed that some of the greens that I had planted last year in containers, were now growing on the ground. The seeds had fallen off their parent plants and taken root.

Why Move Plants

During the winter time, these collards were in a different location and I moved them to a shady-er (IDK if that's a word) spot so that they would receive less sunlight as the summer season approached. As the seasons change, the amount of sunlight that reaches a given spot will also change. That being said, all plants do not need the same amount of sunlight to grow. Frost tolerant vegetables like collard greens and kale, will do fine with about 4 hours of direct sunlight. Non-frost tolerant vegetables, like tomatoes and bell peppers, need at least 6 hours of direct sunlight.

My yard is shaded heavily during the summer afternoons and evenings because of a wall of trees that are on the fence line. In the Winter time, the leaves on these trees fall off, allowing more sunlight into the yard. Take this into consideration when determining where you want to place your plants.

Testing Growing Areas

I haven't grown much on the side of the house where I moved the containers. As a result, I will see how well the collard greens that self-planted, will do in this location. This particular location, only gets direct morning sunlight and is shaded the rest of the day. When it comes to collard greens, this may do them good during the summer time, as greens will usually "bolt" (meaning gone to seed) during the hotter temperatures and longer daylight.

If this shady location does well for the greens, I may go with setting up a grow bed on this side of the house.

Conclusion

My 2021 growing season is off to a great start. How so? Because I have not put in any work, and the garden is already producing.