Pruning Techniques

Pruning is a very important gardening technique that allows you to alter the growth of plants. It also helps you keep your plants healthy and prevent them from becoming susceptible to pests and diseases.

When pruning, you need to be careful about the timing of your cuts. The earlier a cut is made, the longer the plant will have to grow new buds before winter sets in.

You can do this by removing branches or limbs during the early growth stage. This is known as Formative Pruning and is very common among fruit growers.

Another way to prune a tree is by using thinning cuts. These cuts can remove weak, diseased or unwanted growth from the tree. They can also eliminate competition and increase air circulation.

You can do this by cutting to a weak node, which is a dormant bud under the bark. This node is weaker than a mature node, so it cannot replace the growth removed by the cut.

Watering Techniques

Water is the primary source of nutrients that plants need to thrive. Without it, plant roots can not absorb the dissolved nutrients in soil and other growing mediums, which are necessary for optimum growth.

In addition, water helps plants to spread out their roots, which can reduce root diseases caused by Pythium and Phytophthora. It also reduces algae and shore fly problems that can occur in growing mediums when watering is not done correctly.

When applying water to a growing medium, there are two main techniques: shallow, low-volume watering and thorough watering. Shallow, low-volume watering means that a little water is applied at frequent intervals so the growing medium does not become saturated. When the growing medium becomes saturated, it does not have enough oxygen to keep the plant roots healthy and therefore increases the risk of introducing root pathogens into the growing medium. When watering a growing medium, it is important to dry it out between waterings so that the plant roots can breathe and grow efficiently.