For example, if you have vining veggies like
cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, or squash and you
need horizontal space, you could redirect your
plants’ growth pattern. Even though vining plants
have a natural tendency to spread out, you can get
them to grow upwards by staking them or giving
them a trellis or wire cage to grow. This easy solution
creates more space and helps grow a healthier plant.
WHY PRUNE AND PINCH?
The two most common horticultural techniques
for directing your plants’ growth are pinching and
pruning. These trimming techniques include the
removal of straggly limbs and vines, the deadhead-
ing of spent flowers and leaves, and more aggressive
interventions like the removal of entire branches.
They are also often necessary procedures. These
gardening techniques control growth patterns and
foliage density, as well as influence the direction in
which a plant grows. They also serve to improve the
plants’ overall health while increasing the quality of
its fruits and vegetables.
IN A PINCH
Pinching is generally less aggressive than pruning
and is a hands-on job. To pinch a plant, you must do
just what the term implies: pinch. Between your fore-
finger and thumb, you literally pinch off the smaller
flower buds, stunted fruit, suckers, and/or weak
leaves. You’ll want to pinch the plants’ leaves right
above the leaf nodes on the branch.
What results is a natural compensation. A
plant with too dense of foliage will produce
less fruit or flowers, and the same holds true
in reverse. After pinching, the plant’s energy
is redirected to the remaining fruit, flowers, or
leaves. If you want a shorter and bushier plant,
pinch on a regular basis. It forces the plant to
focus on density rather than height.
On food-bearing plants, pinching will result
in less produce come harvest time (we’re only
talking a few less fruits or vegetables with a small
garden). However, the flowers or fruit that do set
will be larger, tastier, and often of better quality
than those that would have grown if the excess
leaves and buds remained on the plant.
“THESE gardening
techniques control growth
patterns and foliage density,
as well as influence the
direction in which
a plant grows.”
grow cycle
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