Tips and tricks for the spring season
It is the season to sell and deliver your garden plants. Where in the past the most important sales period was the autumn, in recent years we have seen a shift to spring. This shift in trading can cause rush and pressure in already busy times in your business, as spring is often the main period for potting and crop protection activities.
High quality plants require high quality planning during these busy days. Our International Technical Manager, Dorus Rijkers, shares tips and tricks to stay in control of your culture.
Fertilization:
After potting: support root growth with 2 applications of a high P water-soluble fertilizer: Peters Professional Plant Starter (10-52-10) or Peters Professional Power P (9-40-25).
- General recommendation for plants in pots of >1liter: 15g/m²/ week (maximum of 2 applications in total)
- General recommendation for cuttings: 5g/m²/week (maximum of 2 applications in total)
Greenhouse climate:
- Be aware of the enormous increase of irradiance during these weeks. Take care of shading in time. Apply a layer of shading-spray (i.e. Redusol, Temperzon, etc.) to your greenhouse glass.
- Watch the level of humidity in the greenhouse during the day: in some areas in Europe, the temperature difference between daytime and nighttime can be big. Very low levels of humidity in the afternoon and high humidity levels during the night can cause ‘exploding cells’ in the plants’ leaves. Try to avoid peaks in your greenhouse climate.
- Consider to apply short irrigations during the day in sunny weather conditions. This helps to keep the humidity in half-empty greenhouses under control.
Crop protection:
Increasing temperatures result in more insect activity. Be aware of the activity of aphids on young leaves, and of spider mites, which can develop very quickly when average daily temperatures in the greenhouse are rising.
Trial first on a small scale before rate, application or other changes in your cultural practices are implemented. As circumstances can differ and as the application of our products is beyond our control, ICL Specialty Fertilizers cannot be made responsible for any negative results.