Are You Spaced Out?

Find out if you are giving your plants enough room.

Plants, like any other living creature, need to be close to some things to survive and farther from some things to grow properly. Plants, as we know, need water, air and light. The closer one plant is to another plant, the less light and possibly air, the plants will receive.

When the plants are just seedlings or cuttings they can be placed in relatively close proximity to one another. As they grow they need to be moved or thinned out. In a farm or row garden situation growers sometimes “cull” the smaller or weaker plants allowing the stronger more aggressive plants to thrive. By giving more space or elbowroom to the remaining plants, they can utilize greater area for growing, more air flow to prevent mildew and more light for significantly more photosynthesis.

Studies done in India on flower yielding plants grown for essential oil such as Rosa Damascena showed that the effect of spacing and some pruning, as well as the use of growth hormones, had a very large impact on the final production. In this major study done by Dr.’s D.V. Singh and M. Ram during the 1980s they found normal plants that were pruned or spaced resulted in increases of flower yield from 18% to as much as 37% over plants that were not spaced. Also plants treated with a low dose (50ppm) with some type of hormone solution containing auxins or cytokinins also responded with higher total yields.

Basically this study shows that the use of some type of growth promoter along with proper spacing will increase the flower yields in most plants.

How far should plants be spaced? Outside it is generally thought that the longest shadow should only block very low portions of branches of the next plant. Inside, if the plants are under three feet, each plant should be a minimum of 18 inches apart and a maximum of 30 inches apart. Allotting each plant anything more than this amount of space would be wasting valuable room.

Some tips for preparing and planting your crop:

1. Plant your cuttings as soon as they arrive and plan ahead. Don’t wait for them to arrive to prepare for transplanting or you won’t be ready to plant and the cuttings will begin to loose vigor and wilt. Get your soil or growing media, sterilized knife and so on prepared ahead of time. Use the largest container that is practical for your cuttings partly for future growth and partly so you do not have to transplant again.
2. If you are a smoker wash your hands as though you are a surgeon or wear latex gloves.
3. Provide a suitable amount of spacing. Crowed plants are weaker and more susceptible to disease and pests. Weaker plants root slower and yield less fruit or flowers.
4. Cuttings should be acclimatized with a weak amount of light or diffused light before being introduced to full HID lighting. The lights should also be at least 3-4 feet above the new plants or seedlings.
5. Begin a regular feed program as soon as possible and always refer to the manufacturer’s recommended level for new cuttings. Use formulas where the nitrogen (N) is mostly the nitrate form of nitrogen, not full of urea or ammonia.
6. Be sure the night temperatures do not get below 68 degrees F (20°C) or above 80 degrees F (34°C) during the day. Too little or too much heat is not good for new plant starts.
   
   These are just some basic plant management rules to use and help you get better performing crops.