Lately, the farming methods and the way vegetables are grown have changed because of climate change and weather patterns. Thus, it has become important to use tutoring vegetables farming methods. When choosing trellis materials, one should use materials that will give the best support to the particular vegetables being grown. Trellis netting is more popular with the right type of vegetables, such as tomatoes, chili peppers, peas and eggplants.
Different Methods of Tutoring Vegetables
There are different systems that can be used especially with products, such as cucumber which is a sensitive crop. Letting them grow along the ground or get into contact with the ground could result in losses due to various diseases. This can be prevented using cucumber netting. Not only does this increase the yield from fewer losses due to diseases but the leaves are also exposed to more light because the crop is allowed to grow upwards using cucumber netting, increasing the yield as a result.
Tomatoes are also a vine and when using a tomato trellis, you need to ensure that it is sturdily built because once the tomatoes start producing fruit, they become extremely heavy. Most farmers that grow tomatoes out in the open usually use tomato stakes for ease of erecting the support. When using a tomato trellis or tomato stakes, it is important to note that the crop should be accessible from either side for ease of maintaining and harvesting the crop.
When growing other vine type crops, such as melons, trellis netting will require extra support to make it strong enough due to the weight of the crops. In this case, it would probably be better to use materials, such as chicken wire and strong wooden supports.
Using bird netting and poultry netting for plant support makes the erecting of the trellis easier rather than weaving string, which can be time-consuming. However, the two systems can be combined depending on the crop one is growing. Since growing vertical is the modern trend to save space and prevent diseases, most crops like beans, peas or tomatoes are grown on either side of the plant support.
Scrog is a popular way of growing marijuana in the states where they are legal and the term actually means screen of green. This is when the plants are trained by placing a screen around and above the plants. Moreover, as the plants grow, they are trained to fill the space by tying the branches of the plant to the screen. Using the scrog method allows the grower to get the best yield, especially if space is limited. Using the screen of green method when growing large marijuana varieties, such as large Sativas, the plants can be trained in such a way that every bit of light will hit the plant somewhere rather than hitting the ground.
Weed Control When Tutoring Vegetables
When tutoring vegetables, it is important to ensure that weed control is put in place using ground cover and a weed barrier. To get the best yields, one should control the weeds, especially when the plants are at a young age because weeds can often outgrow the seedlings. Using herbicides is an effective way of controlling weeds, but the disadvantage is that some herbicides cannot be used with certain vegetables. Using a weed barrier is one solution or ground cover can be used in the form of organic mulch between the rows of the vegetables.
Garden fabric is another method of ensuring that the gardener will not need to pull out weeds on a weekly basis. Using garden fabric is also a suitable way of ensuring that the mulch does not sink into the ground. Thus, the mulch will never have to be redone because if it is left on uncovered soil, it will disappear after sometime.
It is not only humans that find vegetables great to eat, but they are also vulnerable to be harmed by birds, deer and insects. Depending on the type of vegetables being grown, floating row cover serves as a good form of protection from insects, birds and even deer. If deer are extremely problematic then surrounding the vegetables with a deer fence could be a permanent solution. A Deer fence along with bird netting is an essential part of vegetable gardening, as the crop losses due to damage from deer or birds can be very costly and a floating row cover also guards against any frost that could occur.
Climate Control When Tutoring Vegetables
When living in extremely hot temperatures, misting and fogging might not be enough to cool the greenhouse to the required temperatures. To get the perfect temperatures, one can revert to using shade cloth and shade netting. It has been found that certain plants will ripen quicker with different color shade netting and when higher than 60% shade is required, shade cloth is a better choice.
Shade cloth is normally hung over the greenhouse and when considering shade netting or cloth, it is better to buy the type that has grommets, which make it easier to install. Other than that, there are compounds that can be used but some disadvantages are associated with this method. The water soluble type will wash off when it will rain and will need to be reapplied. The types that are not water soluble require a cleaner to remove the compound when the shade cloth is not required. It is also advisable to attach the shade cloth so that it can be rolled up or hung to control the temperatures when tutoring vegetables.
One important factor to remember when growing vegetables vertically is that the trellis needs to be of a robust design because if it collapses after the vegetables have reached their full maturity, there could be significant crop loss. There are various materials that can be used that should be strong enough to hold the crops. Some materials are more appropriate for different types of crops, such as chicken wire which can be used for beans and peas but not for cucumbers.
