Features
'Nip and Tuck' garden style
In organic gardening we generally seek to work with nature unlike our conventional neighbours who seek to dominate nature to achieve their means. However, as we are growing plants (most of the time) which are out of place or foreign to the environment in which we are growing them we have to 'interfere,' for want of a better word, to get the best from some of our crops. A little nip here and a tuck there may make a big difference to what we get both in terms of quality and quantity from our plants. We seek to keep them 'young' and productive for as long as possible (not so far removed from our cosmetic counterparts some might claim!) without resorting to chemicals or other really drastic means to achieve our aim. Pruning, sideshooting, training of plants horizontally or vertically, removal of growing tips or in some cases cutting whole plants back to soil level to allow for fresh growth are our 'surgical' techniques. Of course these are secondary skills to proper soil preparation and feeding initially, without which we will never achieve much.
Controlling plants
The first plants that spring to mind are greenhouse cucumbers and tomatoes in their many forms. Once transplanted if left to their own devices these plants would simply form an unruly jungle, producing masses of leaf growth at the expense of fruit. Trailing all over the place, the quality of cucumbers would be impossible to control. Firstly, we need to train them upwards clear of the ground to produce clean straight fruits that are easily harvested. Both tomatoes and cucumbers need to have their side shoots which are produced at the joint between the leaf and the main stem nipped out regularly so that the plant maintains a compact, tidy upright shape. This will also increase the yield of our crops which is our aim in the first place. Side shoots are removed right up to the top of the tunnel or crop support bars and in the case of tomatoes the growing tips are removed to hasten ripening of the trusses below. With cucumbers the plants can either be trailed over the crop bars or wires, as the case may be, or allowed to grown back down or else two side shoots can be left at the top to grown back down extending cropping time. Though these are tried and tested techniques the innovative gardener has plenty of space for experimentation to suit his or her own needs.
Difficult herbs
I am asked regularly about herbs running to seed prematurely with very little leaf production. These herbs are in the main coriander, chervil, dill and to a lesser extent parsley. This problem is at its worst in hot dry spells in summer. When the top few inches of soil dries out these shallow rooting plants will bolt immediately. At the risk of stating the obvious, these herbs should not be left short of water and should be cut or harvested regularly to encourage leafy growth. For market growers it is important to re-sow every week to ten days in order to keep a continuous supply but this will vary with the time of year. With herbs such as basil the problem can be relieved by 'nipping it in the bud' literally. As soon as little white flowering shoots start to appear nip them off. If this isn't done leaf quality will soon deteriorate.
Salads
When it comes to popular salad leaf crops such as rocket, mizuna, mustard and many others, once again the key to success is not to allow them to get too large or to produce flowering stems. Of course they will still provide useful (strong flavoured) leaves after flowering and the flowers can be used for decoration but the aim is to prolong leaf production for as long as possible. If the market gardener has too much at once he should consider the more drastic measure of cutting back part of the crop to ground level even if it has to go on the compost heap. At least good re-growth will occur if done in time. Continuity of supply is one of the biggest challenges facing a grower. It is a skill acquired over time and with a good cropping plan.
Flowers
Finally, in cut flower production, cutting out the first flowers produced will, in many cases, cause the plant to branch out and produce lots of blossom. Flower heads that have gone over should always be removed to prolong the flowering period. I am doing this at present with calendula or pot marigold which are a wonderful cut flower.
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