The growing season and its importance for vegetable growing

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

The growing season should be distinguished from the growing season. The two are often confused when it comes to farming advice. The growing season is that part of the calendar year when (according to local climatic conditions) the growth and development of plants occurs. This concept came to agricultural technology from meteorology. But the growing season is a biological concept. It indicates the time of development for a particular species or variety of plants. And covers the period from the beginning of shoots to harvest. Different horticultural crops vary according to the duration of the different stages of this period and are called early or late, as well as mid-ripening.

The vegetation period of plants will be different in the northern and southern regions. This must be taken into account before choosing and adapting a variety for planting. In the southern regions of the CIS, plants of almost all maturation periods can be grown. And in the northern ones, if they grow, they do not ripen every year.

Vegetation period in vegetable growing

In order not to be confused by the differences between meteorological and biological concepts, gardeners began to set aside the time from emergence of seedlings to the end of the harvest. And they called it the growing season. After all, inIn vegetable crops, plants often do not go through a full cycle of ripening due to the fact that the harvest must end before the seeds are fully ripe. For example, harvesting corn is best done in the so-called phase of milky ripeness. Cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as other vegetable crops that are harvested more than once, are characterized by a growing season, which is measured by the length of time from the first to the last harvest.

To a large extent, this is influenced by external conditions. As well as the characteristics of the variety. Vegetable crops are divided into early, mid-ripening and late-ripening, and the differences between the ripening time of their fruits can vary up to several months. In adverse conditions (lack of water and sun, unexpected frosts, floods), almost any variety can unexpectedly increase its growing season. This can significantly disrupt the plans of the vegetable grower and breeder.

Growth and development of vegetables during the growing season

Quantitative changes in plant organisms are associated with the transformation of their cells, parts and organs. The mass and size changes, as does the appearance. And it affects the entire growing season. What could this mean for gardeners?

Studying the heredity of plant organisms, as well as their susceptibility to environmental influences, will help the gardener create optimal conditions for maximum yield. After all, vegetables (for example, potatoes) that are not adapted to the soil and weather conditions of a givenparticular locality, show very low yields and do not justify the cost of breeding and care. For annuals (cucumbers, tomatoes), conditions are important in which growth and development occur in parallel. This contributes to early, abundant fruiting and optimal maturation. There are many techniques that inhibit the development of a plant organism at the initial stage and then provide a rapid increase in mass.