Broccoli went to seed, and corn growing in odd places.

Canada
August 3, 2011 3:48pm CST
The broccoli went to seed last week, so I broke the florets off and fed them to the guinea pigs, who loved them. Something told me not to remove the plants from the garden. I had pulled one out though, but left the others behind. Thankfully I did, as there are new florets growing on the stems now. I discovered corn growing under the bird feeder yesterday, I had no idea that the kernels would actually grow there. The birds were dumping a lot of seed on the ground, and we were cleaning it up the best we could, but certainly couldn't get it all. The corn is going to be a problem since it takes so long to grow, and summer is getting close to the end. It would be ready in November, but it will get too cold for it to survive. Hopefully it will survive.
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6 responses
@GardenGerty (160778)
• United States
4 Aug 11
I have some presents from the birds, myself. It has been so dry, I am considering taking cuttings from my tomatoes to root, and I bet I get a fall crop.Cutting the existing ones back may also rejuvenate them. I am going to plant more potatoes, from a bag that was sprouty. They like cool weather. You will quite likely not get much in the way of corn. This is quite an irregular gardening year.
• Canada
4 Aug 11
We've been watering daily, and recently we've been getting a bit of rain, which is good. The corn is now about 5' tall, not the new stuff growing, but the stuff we planted in May. I'm watching those, 3 of 4 of them are that tall, the other one is about 4' tall now. It's not doing as well as the others, but I don't think it's a big deal. The tomato plants are doing the best. Between the 2 gardens, there are about 60 tomatoes that I can visibly see. The peppers aren't faring as well, but they're being covered up by tall mint plants that are falling over. The cucumbers are creeping all over the place, there is at least one good cucumber almost ready to pick, and it's looking good. The beans and peas that were potted have already been picked, and the celery will be ready next month I think. So things are growing well, despite lousy soil conditions, but lots of water. I can't wait to be able to eat some of the harvests.
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@GardenGerty (160778)
• United States
4 Aug 11
Your garden is doing much better than mine,even with daily watering it is hard to beat 113 degrees. I have had some wonderful tomatoes, peppers are doing well, and cucumbers too.
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@jillhill (37354)
• United States
3 Aug 11
That's pretty cool though...that the birds are planting for you! Sounds like you are a good gardener!
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• Canada
3 Aug 11
Thanks. Next year we will be tilling the garden so we can get better soil into the area, so we get better crops.
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• Canada
14 Aug 11
It always amuses me how birds and other animals will re-plant seeds in such strange places, and what happens when they grow.
@marguicha (223430)
• Chile
6 Aug 11
Probably you will not get corn from the seed the birds dumped on the ground, but you can use the stalks for next years crop of beans or/and use the leaves for compost. Fortunatly, nothing is lost in Nature. It is use, human beings, that do the real damage. Luck!
• China
4 Aug 11
It is just that kill two birds with one stone for you to grow broccoli.You not only eat broccoli but also use its florets for feeding your guinea pigs.To be honest,I have never seen the broccoili going to seed.
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@bouncybug (614)
• South Africa
4 Aug 11
That's great news that your broccoli is regrowing again - hopefully you will be able to enjoy great fresh veggies for the rest of the season! I have had a similar experience to you with the corn - my hamster food was left outside overnight in the rain by mistake one day and a few days later, I noticed that all the sunflower seeds were sprouting! So now I am hoping to grow my own little sunflower plants. Happy gardening!
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