Growing Plants: How to Successfully Harvest Fruit & Vegetables
There's a time for everything – especially when it comes to sowing, growing, and harvesting. With our plant-growing tips, you can turn your garden into a foodie's paradise.
Growing fruit and veg: Why timing is important
Sow in the spring, ripen in the summer, harvest in the autumn – it all sounds simple enough. However, to get the perfect harvest, you need to be a bit more precise. Every plant has its own specific rhythm. Four phases are crucial:
1. Sowing: The seedlings of most plant varieties must not be exposed to frost. However, some types don't mind the cold during sowing. Sowing is day 0 in a plant's life.
2. Propagating: If you want to give your outdoor plants the best possible start, you can propagate them in a pot before planting them out – for example, in a greenhouse or on a windowsill. The first shoots usually appear one to two weeks after sowing. If you want to grow cucumbers or tomatoes, propagating is essential. They should only be moved outside when the weather is ideal and the plant is strong enough.
3. Growth: Whether propagated or sown directly, the garden bed is where you'll see if your green thumb has what it takes. From watering to fertilising, and from pruning to other care measures, every plant needs the right attention at the right time.
4. Harvest: This is what you've been working for – it's time to harvest! But hold on: one red fruit doesn't mean the whole plant is ripe. The optimal harvest time not only determines the flavour, but also often whether your pantry will be well-stocked again next year.
Our tip: It's important to keep an expert eye on things! Check on your garden and plants throughout the season. Not every plant follows the same schedule.
Plant growing tips
If you want to grow your own plants from scratch, you'll need to create the ideal conditions for growth. Four factors are especially important:
1. The right soil: Special seed-starting soil has a low nutrient content, providing just enough of a boost for germination and root development. This makes it easier for the plant to strengthen its most important parts – the roots.
2. The right watering: After sowing, the soil must always be kept moist, but not wet. It's best to use a spray bottle and cover the seedlings with a plastic film. Regular ventilation prevents mould.
3. The right light: The more light your plants get, the better. In the still-dark early spring, you can help them along with daylight or UV lamps, but a sunny, south-facing spot is also a great 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 get a little (!) cooler. It's best to use a thermometer to find the right spot in your home or greenhouse.
Top tip: Keep a written record of sowing dates etc. This will make it easier to work out when it’s time to transplant, whether your plants are making good progress, or if you need to take further steps to help them grow.
Growing plants in a raised bed: What to keep in mind?
The soil temperature in raised beds is slightly higher than in conventional garden beds. This means the dates for sowing and transplanting in a planting calendar can often be brought forward by a few weeks. But the same rule applies: always wait until after the last frost!
Planting by the moon: Help or hoax?
Planting by the moon isn't necessarily about the satellite's influence on roots or other parts of the plant. Those who follow the moon phases are gardening according to the natural cycle of time – and therefore, the oldest planting calendar in the universe. If you want to give it a try, the rule is: work on the parts of the plant that are above ground during a waxing moon, and on the roots during a waning moon.
