Plant Growing: How to Successfully Harvest Fruit & Vegetables
Everything has its time – especially when it comes to sowing, growing, and harvesting. With our plant-growing tips, you can turn your garden into a gourmet paradise.
Planting Fruit and Vegetables: Why Timing is Important
Sowing in spring, ripening in summer, harvesting in autumn – so far, so clear. But when it comes to the perfect harvest, you need to be a bit more precise. Every plant has its own rhythm. Four phases are crucial:
1. Sowing: The seedlings of most plant varieties must not be exposed to frost under any circumstances. However, some species do not mind the cold during sowing. Sowing is Day 0 of a plant's life.
2. Cultivation: If you want to give your outdoor plants the best possible start, you can pre-grow them in a pot before moving them outside – for example, in a greenhouse or on a windowsill. Sprouts usually appear one to two weeks after sowing. If you want to plant cucumbers or tomatoes, pre-growing is actually essential. They should only go outside when the weather is ideal and the plant is strong enough.
3. Growth: Whether pre-grown or sown directly: the garden bed is where your green thumb is put to the test. From watering to fertilizing, from pruning to other maintenance, every plant needs the right care at the ideal time.
4. Harvest: This is what you’ve been working for – now it's time to harvest! But hold your horses: a red fruit doesn't mean the whole plant is ripe. The optimal time for harvesting determines not only the taste but often whether your pantry will be bountifully filled again next year.
Our tip: Your expert eye is important! Observe your garden and your plants throughout the season. Not every ripening cycle follows the rules exactly.
Tips for Growing Plants
If you want to grow your plants from scratch yourself, you need to create ideal conditions for growth. Four factors are particularly important:
1. The right soil: Special seed-starting soil relies on low nutrient levels, providing just enough boost for germination and root formation. This makes it easier for the plant to strengthen its most important components—the roots.
2. The right watering: After sowing, the soil must be kept constantly moist, but it must not be wet. It is best to use a spray bottle and cover the seedlings with foil. Regular airing prevents mold.
3. The right light: The more light your plants get, the better. In the early, dark days of spring, you can help them along with daylight or UV lamps, but a sunny, south-facing spot is also a good idea.
4. The right temperature: During the germination phase, you should ensure a warm, constant temperature of over 20 degrees Celsius. After that, it should be slightly (!) cooler. It is best to use a thermometer and find the right spot in the house or greenhouse.
Extra tip: Keep a written record of sowing dates and other milestones. This makes it easier to calculate when it's time to transplant, whether your plants are making good progress, or if you need to take further measures to help them grow.
Growing plants in raised beds: What do you need to consider?
Raised beds have a slightly higher soil temperature than their conventional counterparts. That’s why the dates in a planting calendar for sowing and transplanting often shift forward by a few weeks. But here, too, the rule applies: definitely wait for the last frost!
Planting by the moon: Help or humbug?
Planting by the moon isn't necessarily about the satellite's physical influence on roots or plant parts. Those who follow moon phases garden according to the natural cycle of time – and thus according to the oldest planting calendar in the universe. If you want to try it out more precisely, the rule is: work on above-ground plant parts during a waxing moon, and on roots during a waning moon.
