They are individuals like us and have very specific needs in order to develop their potential.
You determine the growth of your plants!
But only if you know why!
Without knowing the causes we set, we will only succeed by accident.
And that has significant implications for self-sufficiency.
In order to change that, we are making our entire knowledge available to you here.
So that you can achieve the desired result in a controlled and targeted manner.
General information
What are Hybrid Seeds (F1) and what does it do?
Hybrid seed is F1 seed. F1 denotes the generation of hybrid breeding.
The propagation cycle for hybrid seeds is very extensive.
Initially, several artificial inbred lines are created. For this purpose, so-called homozygous lines are created, whereby the individual plants are crossed with themselves.
Using biotechnical methods in the laboratories of the breeding companies, most vegetables are forced to cross with themselves.
The offspring of these homozygous parents will all have the same characteristics in the first (F1) generation.
This process causes the hybrid seed to develop sterile seeds and split into different forms when propagated further.
This complex process produces so-called one-off varieties that can only be sown once. An adaptation to a location or a change is then no longer possible.
This hybrid seed has a distinct advantage: breeding companies can patent this hybrid seed. This increases resale many times over as everyone has to re-seed annually. An immediate basic dependency in life is the result.
The breeding companies all refer to a list of varieties, where many fixed-seed varieties have already been eliminated over the last few decades and replaced by hybrid seeds.
Currently, an average of 80-90% of the world's seeds have been replaced by hybrid seeds.
This obviously destroys the basis for further propagation of our cultural variety and thus our independence!
What are Nematodes?
Nematodes are part of soil life such as earthworms, small microbes, fungi, arachnids, beetles, moles, hamsters and rabbits. They all belong to the miracle of mother nature and ensure a healthy soil.
The harmonious interaction of all these organisms, in connection with the plants, sustains life in the soil.
Plants provide food for soil life! Their green leaves allow them to harness the energy of sunlight by converting the carbon in the air. This energy is then available to soil organisms in a variety of ways.
On the one hand through dead plant material that has fallen down and on the other hand through the substances that are released into the soil by the plant roots (excretions). On the other hand, the soil life provides the plant with sufficient nitrogen bound from the air, dissolved mineral nutrients from the rock and a stable soil structure
cavities for water and air supply!
The nematodes or roundworms are among the soil creatures that are almost invisible to the naked eye. Many species feed directly on or in the plant root. These can therefore be mistakenly regarded as pests. Many different types of nematodes live in the soil and they all have a very specific way of life. Some of them are even tied to special plants.
"Living in a handful of garden soil
normally about 300 nematodes, of which we
notice nothing.”
Only when individual species become strong due to an imbalance
multiply, there are visible impairments
at the roots of cultivated plants.
Examples:
Strong sucking of migratory root nematodes stimulates
carrots to form root beards, which are recognizable as small, fine hairy roots.
Root-knot nematodes cause formal changes in the roots and the typical nodules.
There are many life forms of different plant nematodes:
Roundworms such as the "migratory root nematode" live freely in the soil and suck live plant roots from the outside.
The "root gall cells" penetrate the root or even up to it
into the plant stems.
The beet cyst cell even makes a complicated development in the plant root, which is necessary for reproduction. As a result, they then leave behind very resistant cysts in the soil. The larvae contained in it remain viable for many years and only get through
Root excretions of the corresponding plants
hatch stimulated.
While just such nematodes often strongly on individual
Plant species or families are specialized, have the
Free-living tend to include a larger spectrum of plants
they can feed themselves.
IN PRACTICE
By studying the nematodes, it becomes clear that diverse crop rotation and intercropping is essential in the garden! This promotes a harmonious soil balance to prevent nematodes from taking over.
Applying cover manures is an additional way to ensure a diversity of food for the organisms in the garden soil, preventing an imbalance of nematode groups.
Basics for handling plants
What types of germs are there and what are the requirements for germination?
Depending on the species, a distinction is made between an above-ground (epigaeic) or underground (hypogeic) germination type.
In above-ground germination, the germ stalk (hypocotyl) arises between the root and the cotyledons. With a so-called hypocotyl hook, which represents a growth in an arc (hook shape), it breaks through the soil surface and unfolds its cotyledons.
The cotyledons are photosynthetically active until the formation of the first primary leaves of their own and later die off.
Examples of Epigean Germination:
Tomato, potato, sunflower, aubergine, pepper and radish
In underground germination, the germ stalk (epicotyl) arises between the cotyledons and primary leaves in the soil and remains there until the primary leaves break through the soil surface. The first photosynthetically active leaves here are the primary leaves.
Examples of hypogeic germination are pea, pole bean, runner bean, broad bean and date palm.
In general, we need certain factors to overcome seed dormancy. These are water, temperature, oxygen and light conditions.
When it comes to germination, too, we have a wide variety that needs to be considered in order to achieve the desired result.
On the one hand, we distinguish between light germs and dark germs in terms of lighting conditions.
Light germinators grow above the ground, or very lightly covered with soil (0.5cm) and need light to germinate.
Dark germs, on the other hand, do not germinate in light. They need total darkness to germinate.
In terms of temperature conditions, we distinguish between frost, cold, normal, warm and hot germs.
- Frost germs below -5°C
- Cold germs from -5°C to 3°C
- Normal germs from 3°C to 11°C
- Warm germs from 11°C to 30°C
- Hot germs over 30°C
Different types of seeds require different germination conditions. Some seeds can only germinate after months of long frost or after forest fires or even volcanic eruptions.
In addition, we can artificially interrupt dormancy.
One possibility is stratification, vernalization or treatment with gibberellic acid.
An artificial treatment of the seeds to trigger the germination of cold germs, through a cold treatment, is called stratification.
Vernalization, also known as Jarowization, makes it possible to grow cold germs in areas with a short growing season (long winters) and wintry soil temperatures below −20 °C, where even seeds can irreversibly lose their ability to germinate.
Many annual and biennial plant species in regions with pronounced temperature differences between winter and summer conditions do not shoot and flower until they have endured a prolonged period of low temperatures. This prevents the start of the growth (generative) phase of the plant at an unfavorable time before the onset of winter.
For accelerated germination, some seeds can also be treated with gibberellic acid, which in optimal conditions will trigger immediate germination.
Which growth factors are relevant?
For a healthy and vigorous plant and an optimal yield, the required conditions of the individual must be met.
The growth factors are:
- humidity
- oxygen
- temperature
- light
- nutrient
- substrate
By optimizing the factors for each individual plant, it is possible to develop the full potential of the plant.
This is reflected in healthy plants and leads to high yields. Faster growth and less work is another positive effect.
What sowing option can we use?
In general, sowing can always be sown directly. We distinguish between no-till and prefer.
No-till:
Here the seed is usually sown in rows directly into the bed. With beans or similar varieties, several seeds are usually placed in one hole.
It's a quick option, but chances are birds, ants, or other creatures will eat or carry away these seeds. Green manures are traditionally sown by broadcasting and, depending on the variety, slightly hooked into the soil.
Pre-breeding:
For some strains that grow slowly or require a high germination temperature, this is preferable a useful way to get the plants you want earlier, which can result in an earlier harvest. In addition, this is also a seed-sparing variant. The effort is also more complex when preferring, which means that it is used in a more targeted manner.
Parallel sowing in pots with simultaneous sowing outdoors can offer a good opportunity to efficiently use the available space on the bed for possible replanting.
Even if your bed isn't ready yet or you don't have the time to prepare your bed, you can use bringing it forward to harmonize this bottleneck.
Whether it is sown or brought forward ultimately depends on the type of plant and use.
Plants from which we want to promote the potential in a targeted manner, such as with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber and melon, are usually preferred. This enables us to create the conditions in a targeted manner in order to achieve the best possible result.
Other plants such as herbs, lamb's lettuce and green manure are sown directly.
Why is sowing depth important?
You can only achieve high yields if you pay attention to the sowing depth!
The germination rate is considerably reduced by an unfavorable selected sowing depth. In addition, if the seeds are sown too shallowly, the stability of the plant will be impaired, resulting in the plants buckling.
The sowing depth depends on the plant species.
As a rough guide, you can keep the following in mind:
Large seeds such as peas, beans, corn, broad bean and cucurbits are sown about 2-4 cm deep.
Smaller seeds such as carrots, parsley, parsnip and parsley root are placed only 0.5-1 cm deep in the soil.
Fine seeds, like those of most herbs, are light germinators and will germinate directly on the soil's surface.
Note that these are only rough guidelines and that certain varieties can differ significantly.
In addition, it always makes sense to look at the individual in detail in order to be able to develop their full potential.
More tips:
To make it easier to sow small seeds, it is advisable to mix the seeds with some dry sand or sawdust. The mixture is moistened the day before sowing or earlier.
Another positive effect is the pre-soaking of the seeds, which activates the seeds before sowing. This essentially shortens the germination time.
How does the seed develop into a plant?
The seed is often very dry and must therefore first absorb a large amount of water so that its metabolism can start for germination.
For the first growth processes, it uses oils and proteins as food until roots have formed for external supply. Certain enzymes (hydrolases) break down these nutrients, allowing the embryo to move toward the light by growing out of the stem (epigaeic or hypogeal) and leaves. If these substances are used up and the light is sufficient, it gains the necessary energy from photosynthesis with the first rays of the sun after breaking through the earth's surface.
The cotyledons have the function of nourishing the seedling as long as it cannot carry out photosynthesis. For this purpose, the required nutrients are formed from storage substances. During epigeal germination, they also carry out photosynthesis themselves, which can be recognized by the green color. They nourish the seedling until the primary leaves have started their work. Once they are fully developed, the cotyledons die off.
After the development of the first leaves, the internodes (the area between the nodes where the leaf bases are located) begin to elongate, causing the plant to grow in length. At the same time, leaves begin to form, while in the soil the roots branch out to extract more nutrients from the soil. After that, the seedling has developed into a complete plant. Depending on the plant species, it may take a few more years before it flowers for the first time.
Structure of the seedling
The seedling consists of
to the:
- Hypocotyl (precursor of the stem axis)
- the germ layers (cotyledons)
- the radicula (root system)
- the plumula (meristematic tissue that already bears the rudiment of the first true leaves)
How we can propagate plants?
There are two ways to propagate plants:
Propagation via parts of plants, also called vegetative or asexual propagation, or propagation via seeds, called generative or sexual reproduction.
In vegetative propagation, cuttings, runners, underground corms or bulbs are used to grow new plants.
For some varieties, vegetative propagation is easier than generative propagation from seeds.
However, there are also plants that do not form any seeds at all, such as tuberous buds.
Here is a list of vegetables that are mainly propagated vegetatively:
- Potato, tiger nut, sweet potato, ocra, Kollenziest (about tuber)
- Garlic and Bunch of Onions (via Brut bulb)
- Chives, strawberries, lemongrass and many other perennials (via stick division)
- Horseradish (via root cuttings)
- Mints (via root stolons)
- Asparagus (via rhizome division)
- Shallot (over part onions)
From vegetative propagation, several genetically identical clones emerge from a mother plant. The only difference to the mother plant is the age of the plant.
From the regenerative propagation, the new plant arises from the seed, from the pollen of the male genome and from the ovules of the female genome.
As a result, the new seed inherits the genes of both plant parents.
As a result, the offspring of the mother plant are not identical to her and the offspring can also show significant differences among themselves.
In cross-pollination, the offspring of a plant can come from different father plants through fertilization with pollen.
This can cause the offspring to stand out significantly from the mother plant. This is wanted, for example, when breeding new varieties.
Plant care tips
How can I favor the growth of small plants
For some plants it is advisable to remove the first buds to an indefinite height. These include, in particular, peppers, tomatoes, aubergines and cucumbers. This sometimes makes sense for other plant species as well.
Only from a size of at least 40cm do we let the buds hang on the plant in order to achieve the desired yield.
Why are we doing this?
Viewed neutrally, every living being has an energy volume. Plants need this volume to grow and form buds. If they are stimulated to form buds by external conditions, from this point on the plant must use its energy, which was previously used exclusively for growth, to form the buds during growth as well.
The result is reduced plant growth, which has a significant impact on the harvest from a small plant. The yield is significantly higher with a larger and more stable plant skeleton.
As with humans, children are less physically capable than adults. It's the same with plants! The volume of energy multiplies enormously as the plant grows.
Do the test yourself at home with 2 identical plants and see what happens.
Basics for handling trees
Laws of growth and fundamentals of pruning
We would like to provide you with an orientation for tree pruning as a tool to use yourself.
Why is a regular tree trimming useful?
Dead branches left on the tree waste precious energy that the tree needs to grow and sprout new branches and leaves. Pruning dead and unfavorably growing branches can prevent diseases and insect infestations and also ensures a nice air and light-permeable crown. In addition, annual pruning can maintain the physiological balance, which plays a significant role in the yield.
Basically, fruit trees should be pruned every year. There are many reasons for this. Here we show you the 4 necessary principles that you can apply to all fruit trees:
1. Regulate growth
The harder a tree is cut, the more growth it responds to as a result.
Regulating growth is an important part of tree care. By nature, the tree has an almost continuous growth. The right cut at the right time creates a physiological balance.
2. Determine the start and amount of the income
By cutting off and diverting the branches, you create a larger volume (growth) that the tree needs to build up for a higher yield. Then let the tree calm down again in growth in order to achieve the highest possible yields with the best possible fruit quality.
3. Prevent alternation and promote quality
Alternation refers to the alternation between the carrying and resting years.
Pruning is the thinning measure to regulate fruit quality for each year to prevent alternation. Inwardly growing branches and water shoots are removed. Likewise, too many and unfavorably hanging fruits are brought into a harmonious relationship with the tree crown. Balanced growth between new shoot growth and yield produces the best fruit.
4. Maintain tree health
Trees that are kept airy can dry out more quickly after rainfall, which means that fungal diseases and insects can multiply less quickly. A lime coat is not necessary.
In addition, we still have the 4 natural growth laws that can also be applied to all trees. Here we present them to you:
1. Promotion of excellence
The peak promotion means that the thermal bud at the tip of the shoot usually always sprout the strongest.
All other laws are based on this law.
2. Top promotion
It says that the bud on the underside always sprout weaker than the one on the top.
3. Basic Funding
If a shoot has bent below the horizontal due to too much fruit hanging or other influences, the bud will always sprout again at the base of the shoot.
Indirectly, this is also top funding again.
4. Apex promotion
It says that with curved shoots, the bud at the apex always sprout the strongest.
Other general important information about pruning:
The timing of the pruning depends on the age of the tree, the tree species and the desire to preserve it.
You can roughly remember the following rule at the time of editing:
Pruning in the spring favors the maximum possible growth and that in the summer the least, thus favoring fruiting.
What you should consider when cutting.
Always cut branches so that the cut surface is never absolutely horizontal so that water can drain off quickly.
Even a cut in wet rainy weather is not recommended due to the increased moisture pressure. This would also promote tree diseases.
Branches that are half-clipped produce the greatest possible growth. It is therefore advisable to leave branches in older trees or remove them completely.
It is also important that sharp and clean tools are used in order to leave as few cuts as possible.
What cutting tools do I need for tree care?
The basic cutting tools are a pruning saw, pruning shears, pruning shears and a knife.
The pruning saw is used for large branches. The pruner is used to cut medium-sized branches. With the small pruning shears or garden shears, the shape cut is carried out on the thinnest branches. The knife is used to rework the cut wound if it tears out when cutting.
What types of tree pruning can we use?
When it comes to pruning, we distinguish between cutting out, cutting away and deriving.
Cutting out = shortening of shoots causes the highest possible formation of new shoots, which minimizes fruit formation.
Pruning = Pruning causes the least growth of new shoots and is therefore best suited for pruning during the dormant phase.
Deriving: By deriving we mean cutting back shoots up to the fork in the branch. The stronger and usually steeper growing shoot is removed in order to derive the flatter, weaker and usually more fertile shoot.
These basic teachings of tree science will help you in the future to successfully and harmoniously keep the tree healthy and productive at the same time.
Under the menu item "Workshop's" we will offer a workshop based on this in the future.
Information on maintenance breeding
Why is plant count important in maintenance breeding?
Conservation breeding is a special form of plant breeding that aims to preserve the genetic characteristics and vitality of an existing variety.
Only because of the centuries-long plant breeding from the wild forms ours
today's vegetables, we can buy our well-known vegetables today.
This harmonious change in our wild plants through our intervention causes the plants to strive again and again to change back to their original form. According to the natural law of harmony.
We cannot prevent this, but we can delay it by keeping seeds alive and taking certain factors into account. The re-spreading of the seeds and the harvest is therefore a permanent necessity in order to continue to receive our pea seeds.
In contrast to plant breeding, maintenance breeding depends on a certain decisive factor, the number of plants!
Since the vitality of the plant naturally decreases over generations, it is necessary to propagate a certain minimum number of plants of one variety. Crossing with other plants of the same variety causes a larger gene pool in the same line, which counteracts the decrease in vitality.
A plant that has not been crossed with any other plants or with just a few plants of the same variety could already start to lose its vitality in the second generation.
This leads to clear differences in the genetic characteristics to the original variety (fruit quality, color, shape, taste, growth characteristics)
People who for years had simply harvested their own seeds and grown their new plants from them without considering these certain factors had to buy new seeds in order to get vital and genetically pure plants again. It is not uncommon for us to lose interesting varieties as a result, especially when the seed of this variety is no longer available.
From our point of view, a minimum of 50 plants is necessary to keep a variety genetically stable for the next 30 years.
That is why we always aim for a number of 50-100 plants in our maintenance breeding when propagating. Of course, this in turn depends on the plant variety.
This ensures us seed that remains genetically stable for decades and secures potential for the future.
We will also create a detailed list of the individual varieties and the required number of plants in the future.