the circle of life
plants, the flowers are known as perfect flowers, or complete flowers, and both the stamen and the pistil are in the
same flower, allowing it to self-pollinate. In other plants,
the male and female flowers are separate but appear on the
same plant, also allowing for self-pollination as long as the
pollen is transferred to the female flower. A third group of
plants (dioecious plants) have individuals that either produce only male flowers or only female flowers. One way to
prevent dioecious plants from producing seeds is to remove
any male plants (and their pollen) so the female flowers do
not become fertilized. Some decorative flowers are grown
this way for aesthetic reasons, as it encourages further
flower development.
The Fruiting Stage
In fruiting plants, the female flowers develop fruit with the
fertilized seeds. The fruits are then harvested when ripe. After
the fruits and seeds are fully developed, they will eventually
separate from the plant. In a natural setting, the seeds then
have a chance to start again as the next generation of plants.
“After the fruits and seeds
are fully developed, they will
eventually separate from the
plant. In a natural setting,
the seeds then have a chance
to start again as the next
generation of plants.”
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Maximum Yield USA | January 2015
For most perennial plants (plants that live for more than two
years), the parent plant will have the opportunity to repeat
the growth and flowering stages again, but in annuals (plants
that complete their life cycle within a year), the plants must
be started again from seeds or cuttings for the next year’s
gardening season.
Regardless of when the plant is harvested, take the planting
date with the harvest date, and calculate the number of days
the plant took to grow to harvest. Then divide the amount of
harvest by the number of days to find the rate the garden (or
a particular plant) produced. For example, if a black krim
tomato plant produced 5 lb. of fruit and took 110 days from
seed to harvest, the daily production rate would be .045 lb.
per day. Plants with smaller harvests such as saffron or lavender may be easier to measure in smaller units such as ounces.
This critical bit of information can be useful when comparing seasons and varieties.
Understanding the basic life cycles of plants can be
helpful in knowing what to expect from your garden,
and in what order.