The wide range of vegetables in our gardens illustrates different plant lifecycles. Perennial vegetables that we can grow in our Calgary Zone 3 climate come back each year from the roots with no help from us. Asparagus and rhubarb (technically a vegetable as we eat the stems and not the fruit) are common examples. Garlic has a perennial lifecycle, but because we eat the root, we treat it as an annual – harvesting the bulbs and replanting each season. Tomatoes are also perennials but will not survive our winters so are also replaced each year.
By definition, a true annual survives for only one season, and we may only find them in our gardens again if they release seeds that survive the winter and germinate the next spring. Not many of the vegetables in our gardens are annuals, but examples include lettuce, peas, beans, and squash plants.
Biennial plants complete their lifecycle in two years – they are planted in the spring, grow through the season, then survive the winter and flower the next spring. Many of the common vegetables that we grow fit this category, including beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, kale, kohlrabi, leek, onion, parsnip, salsify, and turnip. We harvest these plants in the summer or fall, interrupting their growing cycle before they have a chance to go to flower and set seed.
In milder climates, biennials left in the ground have a chance to re-grow and flower the next season. Research suggests that it may be possible for gardeners in colder locations to overwinter the roots of a plant like a carrot and plant it in the spring in the hopes of getting carrot flowers and seeds. This could be a fun experiment!
To see examples of all the edible plants listed above, why not stop by the CKE Community Garden?
Happy gardening!
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