HOW TO KICK-START SLOW GROWERS

You can’t actually watch your plants grow (at least not without time-lapse photography), but you can tell when they’re not growing. From the beginning, you can observe that they stretch a few inches taller and add new leaves each week. When you don’t see new leaves opening at the tops of your plants for a few days, they likely have stalled.

After plants reach their mature height, they switch from growing stems and leaves to flowering. At that point, they are no longer getting taller and bushier. Instead, you should see them forming new flower buds and the existing ones becoming larger and bulkier from one week to the next.

If you notice that your plants are stagnating at any stage, what can you do? Check out these factors to get them growing strong again.

NUTRIENTS

Fertilizers for indoor gardens are specifically formulated for each stage of plants’ growth, from seedlings to leafy stalks to flowering. The nutrients in each formula vary based on the plants’ needs during stages of their life cycle. For instance, fertilizers for seedlings or clones are high in nitrogen, which stimulates leaf growth, and potassium, a key nutrient for root development.

When plants get ready to flower, they need more phosphorus and less nitrogen. Using fertilizer with the wrong nutrient balance will slow down and may even stop the plants’ growth.

LIGHTING

Compact fluorescent lights appeal to indoor growers because they are inexpensive to buy and use. They generate sufficient light to grow leafy crops, but they need to be as close as 3 inches above the plants. Light-emitting diode lights can bring flowering plants to maturity, and they are effective when they are about 24 to 30 inches from the top of the plants.

When the lights are not strong enough for your crop or are too far away, your plants’ growth can slow or they may grow taller but more spindly. If you find that your plants consistently stall before they reach maturity, you might consider investing in high-intensity lights, such as metal halide or high-pressure sodium, the most effective types for indoor growing.

No matter what lighting you use, change the bulbs regularly—the light weakens before your eyes notice that it has dimmed. We buy houses Folsom CA

SUPPLEMENTS

Plants produce their own amino acids, the 20 basic building blocks of protein that are involved in many aspects of the growing process. For instance, glycine and glutamic acid help plants maximize the amount of light that leaves can absorb.

Others play a key role in stimulating plants’ natural growth hormones. But in times of stress, such as dehydration, the amino acid supply can drop as plants go into survival mode. Giving them an amino acid supplement when their growth has slowed or stopped ensures that all parts of the plant have what’s needed.

Phosphorus is the crucial nutrient for flowering. When your plants aren’t producing new buds or adding size and weight to existing ones, you can use bone-meal supplements, organic minerals that are loaded with phosphorus.

HUMIDITY

Humidity control While your plants are adding lots of stems and leaves—the vegetative stage—they grow most vigorously when the humidity level is above 40 percent. When it drops to 25 percent or lower, your plants may look like they’re suffering from nutrient deficiencies and they may barely grow.

A humidifier helps maintain the air’s moisture content, ideally at 60 percent, even in winter, when the air inside homes tends to be dry. Just remember to dial back the humidity level to around 40 percent to 50 percent during flowering to prevent mold from spoiling the buds.

TEMPERATURE

Indoor plants grow best when the air and the nutrient solution are between 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooler temperatures slow the growth of seedlings as they try to simply survive the less than ideal conditions. Hot conditions during the flowering stage can thwart the formation of buds and can also cause rapid evaporation, leaving plants thirsty and impeding their growth.

For steady, sustainable growth, use fans and ventilation to keep the room and the nutrient solution no warmer than 75 degrees Fahrenheit when the lights are on. And make sure that the temperatures don’t drop below 60 degrees Fahrenheit when they’re off.

PH

The relative acidity or alkalinity of your nutrient solution (fertilizer and water)—its pH—significantly affects your plants’ ability to absorb the vital minerals they need. For example, at a pH below 5.5, nitrogen is “locked out,” meaning that the roots can’t absorb it. At a pH higher than 7.0, plants can’t absorb phosphorus.

When plants can’t take up the nutrients they need, their growth stalls. Most hydroponic fertilizers are at their peak when the pH of the nutrient solution is slightly acidic, ideally between 5.5 and 6.5.

Be aware that the pH of the water you blend with fertilizers can significantly alter the pH of your nutrient solution. Check each batch you mix up and adjust the pH as needed to be sure it’s in the proper range.

OXYGEN

MicrobesMicrobes help break down organic fertilizers into nutrients that plants’ roots can absorb, and those microbes need oxygen to fuel their feeding and reproduction. Without oxygen, your plants don’t get the nutrients they need to grow and can drift into a holding pattern.

If you don’t have an air stone or other pump in your nutrient solution reservoir, you can add oxygen simply by stirring the fluid well once or twice daily.

CARBON DIOXIDE

Plants require CO2 to sustain steady growth. Outdoors, the air has plenty of carbon dioxide for healthy plant growth, but the levels in indoor grow rooms can drop below the 300 to 500 parts per million found in the atmosphere.

Ventilating and circulating the air indoors is the simplest way to provide enough CO2. With a carbon dioxide generator, you can give slow-growing plants even more, which will increase photosynthesis and stimulate new growth.

Tips to get you started growing your own food

We continue to learn that food really is medicine. And that growing your own food may be one of the most powerful steps you can take for the health of yourself, your family, and your planet.Food is medicine quote

Many Americans spend lots of time and money on lawn maintenance, but more and more people are choosing to grow food, not grass. The 2015 National Gardening Survey reports that spending on gardening is up, with food gardening more popular than flower gardening.

Lawns present many problems for people, animals, and the environment. So it makes a lot of sense for many people to instead consider growing a food garden that is beautiful, productive, and that provides your family with healthy food.

Start by observing.

Greg Peterson, founder of Urban Farm U (a site that helps people grow their own food) says the first step to help ensure the success of your garden is to get outside and observe. He suggests looking for where the sun and shade fall each day, thinking about where your water comes from, and investigating your soil. Fertile soil needs plenty of organic material, and your garden needs 4 to 8 hours of morning to mid-afternoon sun.

Make a plan.

Before you start, do some research and decide what fruits, veggies, and herbs grow best in your area. Plus, do a search for your local planting calendar to make sure you plant the right plants at the right time.

Then start small.

Begin with a small area, raised beds, or a few pots — and just a handful of crops, and then expand as you have success. Even if your goal is an entire edible yard, starting small will help you learn how to garden and, this way, you won’t get overwhelmed.

Grow a beautiful garden.

Particularly if you decide to garden in your front yard, other people will see your garden, so you want to be sure to make it appealing, thus building community interaction and reducing the possibility of complaints. It really is simple to mix edible plants with flowering plants to make your space more beautiful and to attract bees and butterflies.

Get creative.

Think outside fences and rows. Don’t be afraid to experiment as that is how we learn best. If something doesn’t work, try something else. Gardening is a process, so have fun with it.