Maximum Yield USA 2012 March | Page 12

FROM THE EDITOR | Jessica Raymond A plant’s life is fascinating; if you pay close enough attention you might just witness extraordinary actions in motion. Plants eat, move and respirate but did you also know they excrete, sleep and communicate? The more we know about how plants exist in the world, the better able we are to maximize the myriad factors that keep them happy and growing—and keep our yields growing too! One such factor is photosynthesis—by learning how to maximize this necessary plant action we can substantially encourage growth rates and improve plant development. Another important but rarely discussed factor is how (and why) plants move and react (aka tropisms).You might be surprised to learn that plants move in six different ways according to light, gravity, water, force contact, chemical stimulus and temperature. This issue of Maximum Yield offers the grand tour of a plant’s life. In addition to photosynthesis and tropisms, we’ve also covered seedlings, soil basics and stress; food, flowering and fertilizer; and much, much more. This issue is about more than just a plant’s life; it’s also about the life of food—from seed or clone to harvest and beyond—and also the life of a grower. Our experts covered every possible angle. Dive into this fascinating life story…of a plant! Celebrate the launch of the 2012 ‘Grow Like A Pro’ F