Hi,
I heard about this technique when growing tomatoes indoors. This teaches the tomato to grow a thicker/stronger main stem. How long must you do this for? I have done it for maybe 5-6 times for anywhere around 5-20 mins.
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I think it might be interesting to some of you to know how this suggestion to use either a fan or take a broom handle or whatever, came about.
It was noticed that in greenhouses where the plants were growing that the plants along the aisles were more sturdy than those back from the aisles and the connection was made between that event and workers going down through those narrow aisles brushing up against the plants and that's what made them more sturdy.
The Cornell Coop Ext in my area at the time, which was near Albany, NY, suggested to all commercial growers that they brush the tops of their plants twice a day.
To know Charlie, my farmer friend is to love him, but after doing that for a week he said forget it and did. He had 28 greenhouses and on sunny days it took him and his helpers many hours just to water the plants and he wasn't going to do the brushing thingie.
Besides, after transplanting and growing on for a couple of weeks he moved his tomato transplants to a cooler greenhouse and he grew great plants with that slower growth.
I was assigned the space in greenhouse #19 in front of the huge exhaust fan, as he said, better my plants than his with all that air being pulled
out.
Carolyn
It was noticed that in greenhouses where the plants were growing that the plants along the aisles were more sturdy than those back from the aisles and the connection was made between that event and workers going down through those narrow aisles brushing up against the plants and that's what made them more sturdy.
The Cornell Coop Ext in my area at the time, which was near Albany, NY, suggested to all commercial growers that they brush the tops of their plants twice a day.
To know Charlie, my farmer friend is to love him, but after doing that for a week he said forget it and did. He had 28 greenhouses and on sunny days it took him and his helpers many hours just to water the plants and he wasn't going to do the brushing thingie.
Besides, after transplanting and growing on for a couple of weeks he moved his tomato transplants to a cooler greenhouse and he grew great plants with that slower growth.
I was assigned the space in greenhouse #19 in front of the huge exhaust fan, as he said, better my plants than his with all that air being pulled
out.
Carolyn