Thursday, July 7, 2011

Bolting Plants and Herbs - Preventing Basil and Cilantro Bolting


What Bolting Is

The weather has been great and you decide that now would be a great time to harvest your herbs. All the delicious recipes that you can use them in fill your head. It is only when you get outside that you notice that something is wrong. The herb has a texture like wood and has a disgusting bitter taste. If this has ever happened to you, you have just had your plant bolt.

'Bolting' is a strange word. When most people hear it, their heads are filled with images of gardeners chasing plants around the garden. However this problem is huge in some parts of the world. As a general rule, the hotter your country is, the higher the chances of bolting happening. Unfortunately some of the most flavorful herbs are those that are most prone to bolting such as basil and cilantro.

What Does 'Bolting' Mean?

Bolting is a natural plant defense that happens when the plant gets so hot that it decides to put all of its resources into growing seeds rather than survival. The plant has basically decided not to try and survive and put all of its energies into the next generation instead. Because of this, what is the left over is inedible.

The early stages of bolting are marked by a sudden production of flowers or an unseasonal flowering. At this point, cutting off the flowers may be enough to save the plant. Basil can often be saved using this technique, however often more is needed.

What To Do

Once it has started, bolting is very hard to stop. Therefore the best technique involve stopping it from happening. Using mulch or watering consistently keep the temperature down and reduce bolting. However watering enough to prevent bolting can take a lot of time that is better used elsewhere.

Many gardeners try to shield the herbs that are likely to bolt with taller plants. Rosemary can be used for this purpose as it acts like a canopy. Sun shields can also be bought/ made cheaply. As long as they keep the plant shaded during the hottest part of the day, but allow it to get some sunshine earlier in the day, it is suitable for the job.

Therefore with a little advanced planning, you can reduce bolting and keep your herbs flavorful and fresh for longer.






This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

No comments:

Post a Comment