diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ec16f7c..c5bd4f9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -627,9 +627,7 @@ Environments are passed into the garden when it boots up, typically by overlayin
 
 In some cases you want to set environment variables for seeds in a packet by default. Instead of having annoying, error-prone duplicated `let-multi` for each seed entrypoint, you can define an environment overlay at the top of the seed packet.
 
-The actual environment used by any seed when it is first grown will be the garden's base environment, overlaid with the contents of the packet's environment. 
-
-Note that if a seed is grown as a sub-seed it will not use its own environment and instead use the environment that is passed down to it by its calling seed. (TODO: this behavior makes this functionality not useful for seeds used as sub-expressions in other packets, who expect a given amount of values being set)
+The actual environment used by any seed when it is first grown will be the garden's base environment, overlaid with any `let`/`let-multi` overrides from seeds higher in the call stack, and finally have the packet's `environment` values overlaid. This creates behavior semantically similar to if every seed in the packet was wrapped in a `let-multi` with the packet's environment, and ensure that seeds have environment values set in a way they expect.
 
 The environment can contain any number of values, but some are used for specific uses by the framework, documented below.
 
diff --git a/src/seed.ts b/src/seed.ts
index c12f8c8..65757e5 100644
--- a/src/seed.ts
+++ b/src/seed.ts
@@ -174,7 +174,8 @@ export class Seed<D extends ExpandedSeedData = ExpandedSeedData> {
 	}
 
 	async grow(env? : Environment) : Promise<Value> {
-		if (!env) env = this.garden.environment.clone(this._environmentOverlay);
-		return grow(this, env);
+		if (!env) env = this.garden.environment;
+		const subEnv = env.clone(this._environmentOverlay);
+		return grow(this, subEnv);
 	}
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/base/test.ts b/test/base/test.ts
index c8376eb..e0465a6 100644
--- a/test/base/test.ts
+++ b/test/base/test.ts
@@ -639,7 +639,7 @@ Suffix`;
 		assert.deepStrictEqual(actual, golden);
 	});
 
-	it ('environment overlay is ignored in sub-seed execution', async () => {
+	it ('environment overlay overrides parent seed let', async () => {
 		const garden = loadTestGarden();
 		const packet = seedPacket.parse({
 			version: 0,
@@ -656,8 +656,7 @@ Suffix`;
 					name: 'komoroske.com:test',
 					value: 5,
 					block: {
-						type: 'var',
-						name: 'komoroske.com:test'
+						id: 'env-test'
 					}
 				}
 			}
@@ -665,11 +664,52 @@ Suffix`;
 		garden.plantSeedPacket('test/base/c_test.json', packet);
 		const seed = await garden.seed('other-test');
 		const actual = await seed.grow();
-		//The other-test should shadow the environment variable.
-		const golden = 5;
+		//The other-test value should be shadowed by the environment packet
+		const golden = 3;
 		assert.deepStrictEqual(actual, golden);
 	});
 
+	it ('environment overlay passed into sub-seed', async () => {
+		const garden = loadTestGarden();
+		const packet = seedPacket.parse({
+			version: 0,
+			environment: {
+				'komoroske.com:test': 3
+			},
+			seeds: {
+				'env-test': {
+					type: 'array',
+					items: [
+						{
+							type: 'var',
+							name: 'komoroske.com:test'
+						},
+						{
+							type: 'var',
+							name: 'komoroske.com:other'
+						}
+					]
+				},
+				'other-test': {
+					type: 'let',
+					name: 'komoroske.com:other',
+					value: 5,
+					block: {
+						id: 'env-test'
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		});
+		garden.plantSeedPacket('test/base/c_test.json', packet);
+		const seed = await garden.seed('other-test');
+		const actual = await seed.grow();
+		//The other value should make it through from the parent seed, and main
+		//value should not be affected.
+		const golden = [3, 5];
+		assert.deepStrictEqual(actual, golden);
+	});
+
+
 
 });