Avoid the most common mistakes in plant cultivation

Especially beginning growers often make fundamental mistakes that they could avoid by reading this article in time and enjoy a plentiful harvest right from the start. So let us introduce them!

EXCESS OF NUTRIENTS

• In a recent article, we looked closely at deficiencies, or shortages, of the most important nutrients in plant nutrition. However, plants do not thrive even when the cause of nutritional imbalance is, on the contrary, an excess of nutrients. In gardening too, the well-known saying applies that too much of a good thing is harmful. And also that less is sometimes more, because a lack of nutrients can be corrected more easily than an excess.
• And it is not only beginning growers who want the best for their herbs, and so give them more nutrients than is healthy for them. In cultivation practice, we refer to this mistake as burning plants due to over-fertilisation.
• The good news is that it can be easily avoided. Simply follow the instructions and values stated in the dosing tables.
• Nutrient burn appears in a similar way to other types of burn caused by light or heat stress (see below).
• We observe random spots around the edges of the leaves and their curling.
• In hydroponic systems, the solution to this problem is easy! Simply replace the growing medium and dilute to the optimum amount of nutrients. Plants have considerable regenerative ability, but it takes some time before they recover sufficiently, which can be a problem, for example, with approaching frosts when growing outdoors.

LIGHT AND HEAT STRESS

• And we are back to plant burn, this time as a result of exposure to excessive light and heat.
• This mistake is most often encountered by beginning growers when cultivating herbs in a grow tent under a powerful source of artificial lighting. The mistake itself consists of placing a powerful discharge lamp too close to the tops of the plants, or above very young seedlings, whose cultivation in a propagator requires gentle TLED lamps, which can be safely placed very close to them.
• With an LED lamp, which compared with discharge lamps stands out for its even light distribution and incomparably lower heat emissions, you no longer need to worry about burning plants. We especially recommend the full-spectrum (and also best-selling) Lumatek LED luminaires.
• Visible signs of light and heat burn in the form of leaves with a yellow to brown coating will always be more pronounced closer to the source of artificial lighting.
• The solution is to increase the distance between the lamp and the tops of the plants. Alternatively, you can check the temperature in the tent. Room temperature will not harm plants, but if you keep your palm at leaf level for a minute and it feels distinctly hot, it means the seedlings must withstand an unhealthily high temperature.

IMPROPER WATERING

• When it comes to proper and improper watering, you need to avoid two extremes: insufficient watering and overwatering plants.
• Unfortunately, both of these extremes are difficult to distinguish from each other by sight alone, as overwatered plants also show drooping and curled leaves, as if they were suffering from a lack of moisture instead. Curling of the stem then reduces future yield.

OVERWATERING

• This is probably the most common mistake when growing plants. Overwatering plants again belongs to the category of mistakes most often encountered by enthusiastic growers during their first growing cycle, when they vigorously supply plants with water and nutrients.
• Leaving aside the risk of burning plants due to excess nutrients (see above), too much water and a wet substrate create a breeding ground for plant diseases or pest invasion. 
• As we have already explained, overwatered plants initially look the same as those that need watering. In practice, this often unfortunately creates a “vicious circle”, when the beginning grower tries to revive wilting plants with more and more water.
• If you know that you are supplying plants with water regularly, and yet you observe wilting leaves, or even chlorosis (yellowing of the leaves) typical of more advanced stages of overwatering, there is nothing easier than to stop watering for a few days and watch whether the plants begin to improve. A proven way to indicate overwatering is also to press the surface of the substrate. Water should not appear on the surface at all after pressing with your fingers, and your fingers should remain only damp. Otherwise, you are overwatering.
• Simple loosening of the substrate can significantly speed up recovery. The root system of an overwatered plant is in fact “suffocating” due to a lack of oxygen, which can cause, among other things, root rot (see below).
• In general, plants benefit more from smaller amounts of water at regular intervals. The risk of overwatering, but also of burning plants with nutrients, is significantly reduced by self-watering systems or, for example, smart pots.

LACK OF MOISTURE

• How much water? Watering should equal the weight of the dry substrate.
• We also recommend misting the plants, especially during the vegetative phase, when higher humidity is important.

ROOT ROT

• Root rot is closely related to overwat