The plants are grown before aquaponics or hydroponics. Here are some tips from regular horticulture.

Cultivating plants is not that difficult. Nevertheless, various mistakes are made, especially for beginners, which is why the cultivation is not satisfactory. Of course, this is bad for your wallet because some types of seeds are quite expensive, and it is also bad for the psyche if the little baby plants do not sprout as previously hoped. Possible consequences are that the desire for your own cultivation is quickly lost and that early young plants (sometimes hybrid varieties) are used.

So that this does not happen and the motivation for your own cultivation continues to flourish, we would like to show the 5 most common mistakes in cultivation and how they can be avoided with simple means.

Too many nutrients

Probably the most common mistake in growing is the choice of substrate in which the seeds should germinate. Usually for cost reasons, growing earth is dispensed with here and the commercially available potting soil is used instead. However, this potting soil is pre-fertilized and therefore full of nutrients.

Neither the seeds nor the small seedlings need this nutrient boost. At this stage, they basically only need two factors: light and water.

It is also helpful to have a solid but not pressed substrate in which the seedlings can form the first roots. This substrate should be free of nutrients or at least low in nutrients. So at least the commercial breeding earth.

However, we did even better with Kokoshumus. This coconut is free of nutrients, has a mold-inhibiting effect and stores water much better than potting soil.

Too little or too much water

Both mistakes are often made – either too little or too much water. Either completely dry or the whole pot or container is under water. An almost constant wet environment is rarely created.

After trying out several options for growing ( potting soil, growing soil, cotton wool, and much more. ), a method has gradually emerged with a clear lead in terms of yield technology.

We use or recycle the plastic trays, which contain fresh fruit and vegetables in the supermarket. For example, arugula, spinach, but also strawberries and grapes are usually sold in these bowls. In most households, these bowls end up in the yellow sack, but with us they are collected and reused for cultivation. Advantage: They are available free of charge and they are transparent – so you can regularly check from the side how moist the substrate is.

About two thirds of the coconut mentioned above is filled into these plastic trays. This Kokushumus stores the water particularly well. Pouring during germination is usually not necessary. Pour on once, plastic film over it, done. A biological microclimate is created inside using the plastic film.

Critics will of course monetize the amount of plastic and / or coconut used, but from our point of view this variant is still recommended. All three components, both the humus and the bowls and the film, can be used again and again. Of course, this is not the 100 percent perfect and most environmentally friendly variant in the world, but compared to many other environmental sins that happen on this planet every day, this is a variant that can be reconciled with your own conscience.

Too little light

The third very popular mistake in growing is the lack of light that the freshly germinated plants urgently need. If this light is missing or not sufficiently available, a phenomenon can be observed that is referred to as a distribution.

When it comes to fermentation, the plant does not grow properly, but forms an extremely long but thin shoot to get to the desired light. In rare exceptional cases, the plant later manages to recover, but usually a healed plant will die after a week or two at the latest.

So it is extremely important to provide enough light as soon as the first seedlings are visible. We have the best experience with so-called growing lamps. Grow Lights) made over the plastic trays. While this puts a strain on your wallet as an initial investment, the plants will thank you.

Unfortunately, the growing lamp that we would like to recommend is no longer available for purchase. As soon as we have another recommendation ready, it will be added here.

Too cold

An environment that is too warm or even hot is also a possible mistake, but rather rare.

It is much more common that the cultivation takes place in a much too cold environment. With us, cultivation is generally carried out in the house or in a room that has relatively constant temperatures between 20 and 22 ° C. Few plants need it a little warmer or colder.

If it is desired that the cultivation takes place in the greenhouse, then I recommend thinking about methods to warm the greenhouse and keep the temperatures constant. In Germany, temperatures can still drop below freezing at night in May. Sometimes shining sunshine during the day, but still shivering at night. In any case, it is generally important to wait for the so-called “ Ice Saints ” to put young plants outside.

Sown too tight

If you have not prepared the young plants individually but plan to spicy them with the appropriate development, you should remember not to make the sowing too narrow. Although it is sometimes a real effort to distribute the small seeds individually, care should still be taken.

The young plants need space to develop, need light, which they may take away from each other if they sow too closely, and at the latest when they spike, it takes revenge when knotted roots tear off.

We recommend a distance of at least two centimeters from the respective seed when sowing. Of course, this does not have to be measured exactly with the linear, but if you keep about a thumb width, you are on the safe side. This method can also be used to wonderfully count which seeds are actually germinated and thus calculate the germination rate.