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All living things need space in which to live, grow
and reproduce and plants are no exception to this
rule. But unlike other living things that can move
from place to place to make the best use of other
available essentials like water, air and light,
plants have to get these from the limited space in
which they grow. Plants are therefore more
vulnerable to deprivation of essentials if they are
not provided enough living space. Therefore it is
important in hydroponics cultivation as in
conventional cultivation to carefully assess the
space your plants will need and plan ahead keeping
in mind their increasing space requirements as they
grow. Spacing of plants is an important aspect
that needs to be carefully considered and properly
addressed for successful
hydroponics cultivation. In
the event of plants being grown too close to one
another, they will most likely receive less than the
required amount of light. Depending on how close
they are grown they may even receive less air than
they require for normal growth.
Space Requirements
When the plants are just seedlings or cuttings they
can be grown in close proximity, but as they grow
their space requirements will increase and they will
need to be moved or thinned out. In farms and
gardens, this is achieved by “culling” the smaller
or weaker plants thus making space for the stronger
and more aggressive plants to thrive in. With more
“living space” now available for the remaining
plants, they can more intensively utilize the
available area for healthy growth. More area for
growth means more air flow to prevent mildew and
more light for photosynthesis.
Benefits of Spacing
A number of studies conducted in India on flower
yielding plants grown for essential oils such as
Rosa Damascena have demonstrably established the
growth enhancing benefits of spacing, pruning and
growth hormones. The results of these tests
conducted in the 1980s have shown that pruning and
spacing can substantially boost flower yield; 18% to
37% increase was recorded in the experiments. It was
also observed that plants treated with a low dose
(50ppm) with some type of hormone solution
containing auxins or cytokinins
also responded with higher total yields.
This study has demonstrated that yields can be
increased with proper spacing and use of some type
of growth promoter. But how much space should be
allowed between plants for the best results? The
rule of thumb is that for plants less than three
feet tall, each plant should be minimum 18 inches
apart and a maximum of 30 inches apart. For anything
more than this amount of space, the law of
diminishing returns sets in.
Tips for Starting out Plants
The following are some tips for preparing and
planting your crop:
1.
Plant cuttings
right away on arrival. Plan
ahead; don’t wait for the cuttings to arrive and
then prepare for transplanting. You will waste
valuable time getting things into place; meanwhile
the plants and the cuttings will begin to loose
vigor and wilt. Keep your soil, growing media, etc.
ready at hand.
2. Smokers would do well to thoroughly wash their
hands or use latex gloves.
3. Make sure your plants are adequately spaced.
Plants grown too close to one another are weaker and
more likely to fall prey to a host of diseases
besides being less resistant to pests. Weaker plants
are slower to grow and reach maturity; they yield
less fruit or flowers.
4. Cuttings should be exposed to weak or diffused
light before being introduced to full HID lighting.
The lights should also be positioned not less than
3-4 feet above the new plants or seedlings
5. Begin on a regular feed program at the
earliest and keep to the manufacturer’s recommended
level for new cuttings. Formulas used should contain
the nitrogen (N) as the nitrate form of nitrogen and
not urea or ammonia.
6. Night temperatures should ideally be
maintained between 68 deg F (20 deg. F) to 80 deg F
during the day. Extremes of temperature cause much
harm to plants especially at the starting phase.
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