grow topics

grow topics.

Below we are discussing interesting cultivation topics for both the novice and the experienced grower. Would you like more information or do you have good input? Ask our Servicedesk!
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Growing terms

a test tube in a machine
What is NPK value in plant nutrients?

The NPK value indicates how much nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium there is in your substrate or fertiliser. These three essential macronutrients are needed by all plants. Knowing the NPK value of your soil and fertiliser helps you give the right amount of nutrients to your plants.

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a row of pants in pots with soil
What does EC value of your nutrient solutio...

Measuring the EC value is a useful and important indication to make a success of your growing. What is the EC value and how can you use it to make sure your plants receive the right amount of nutrients?

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someone using potting soil in combination with a plant
Ph levels for plants: The ideal soil ph and...

The pH level is a value for measuring the acidity of both soil and water. It is important to know the pH level, because every plant is different. Some plants need an acidic soil, whereas others don't.

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What is the Brix value?
What is the Brix value?

The Brix value tells you how much dissolved sugar is in a liquid solution. This value is indicated in degrees Brix. One degree of brix means that a hundred grams of liquid solution contains one gram of sugar. So: the higher the Brix value, the sweeter the liquid solution. This means that the Brix va...

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garden shears being used to take a cutting from a mother plant
What is a mother plant?

A mother plant helps guarantee your long term growing goals. But what is a mother plant exactly? And how should you handle it?

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EC reading: Electrical conductivity in units
EC reading: Electrical conductivity in units

The EC value is an expression of the quantity of nutrients in a nutrient solution or substrate. You want to know this, because you don’t want to overfertilise your plants. To determine this value you can use an EC meter. But different meters use different scales to express the value. How does this...

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Preparation and germination - Growing outdoors

a topdown shot of multiple garden tools on a wooden table
Tips to get started - growing outside

Growing outdoors for beginners. Before you start your first outdoor grow, you need to make some choices. Each one of these will lead to certain advantages and drawbacks. In this topic we’ll give you tips and help you with a summary of the first questions that you need to answer for your growing p...

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a calendar showing a thumbtack on valentine's day, february 14th
Growing outdoors: When to get started?

You’d think it’s best to start when winter is over and the sun has made its return, but you’d miss out on some valuable months if you did that. You can get a head start in February by beginning to germinate your plants. Besides, you can already prepare the soil outside if you’re planning on ...

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two plants in pots, ready to be planted outside
Pros and cons of growing plants outside

Growing outdoors for beginners. The biggest advantage of growing outdoors is obvious: your plant gets free light and water. This has a drawback in itself, though, because you cannot control the light source (the sun) or the quantity of rainwater. There can be too much rain in a short time, and at ot...

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someone holding a plant, with multiple basic definitions visible in a doodle
Basic definitions you need to know

Growing outdoors for beginners. Like every other hobby, growing plants has its own jargon. When you first start looking into growing methods, soil, pots and different types of nutrients, you get hit with a lot of terms. What is a substrate? Why does it have an EC value and what do these numbers mean...

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a field of flowers, with the sky visible over it
What influence does nature have?

Growing outdoors for beginners. A plant has some basic needs: light, water, carbon dioxide, a nice temperature and humidity. By growing outdoors you get all these basics for free. This is awesome, but there’s a catch: you don’t control how much of these basics you get. Apart from that, your plan...

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two hands holding dirt
Do I need a substrate?

Growing outdoors for beginners. The answer depends on your choice of growing in pots or in open ground. In the last case, you already have the soil and you don’t need a substrate as such. You can however improve the soil with certain products. If you want to grow in pots, however, you’re going t...

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a seedling coming out of the soil
Do I need basic nutrition?

Growing outdoors for beginners. Plants need certain elements to reach flowering. Three of these elements can be gotten from air and water: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. But apart from these, a plant needs other essential nutrients. An element is called essential if a plant cannot complete its life cy...

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a bell pepper plant showing red and green fruits
Do I need additives?

Growing outdoors for beginners. Additives are a bonus. A plant has a number of basic requirements: light, water, carbon dioxide, a nice temperature and humidity. If these requirements are fulfilled and you’re also providing basic nutrition, you do not necessarily need additives. However, they can ...

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a topdown shot of multiple tools on the soil next to a seedling
Which tools and supplies do I need?

Growing outdoos for beginners. In the last topics we addressed grow boxes, pots, nutrients, additives and loads of other things. It’s a good idea to summarise what you’re going to need for your first growing project.

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By using plastic cups you can germinate seeds cheaply and develop seedlings easily
Your first low budget indoor or outdoor gro...

Not everyone has a lot of money to spend on the most expensive equipment for their first try at growing plants. And sometimes it’s just a fun challenge to try and keep things as cheap as possible. Below you’ll find multiple tips and tricks for your low budget grow!

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someone requesting the plagron startersguide from the website
Where can I get help?

Growing outdoors for beginners. In spite of all your careful planning, germinating and raising your seedlings, things aren’t going well with your plants. What now? How do you find out what’s wrong and what can you do about it?

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someone sitting on a bench reading a map with a wristwatch next to them
Where do I buy my supplies?

Growing outdoors for beginners. Where should I look? In previous topics, you’ve read a lot about the things you’ll need for your outdoor cultivation. Once you’ve gotten sorted out what you’re going to need, you’ll need to figure out where to buy your stuff.

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Growth phase - Growing outdoors

a hand with soil in it, with abstracly shown chemical elements in the foreground
How can I improve soil quality for various ...

All the preparations are done. You’ve got the tools, the plants are big enough, the Ice Saints have passed and the chance of freezing temperatures is small. Time to get to work! But there could be one last thing you need to prepare: the soil quality you’re going to plant in. Soil needs to have a...

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a plat being readied to be planted in a pot with clay pebbles
How do I prepare pots for the plants

Growing outdoors for beginners. If you’re growing in pots, the type and structure of the substrate is up to you. We do however advise a substrate based on peat and not compost for cultivation in pots. Compost based substrates can clog up a pot, which prevents water from draining away. Below you ca...

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hands preparing a seedling for planting
How to plant young plants or cuttings

Growing outdoors for beginners. You’ve improved your soil or filled your pots. It’s warm and light enough outside and your plants have done some growing. Now it’s time to plant them for real! But how do you plant a plant? Is it simply a matter of making a hole and dumping a plant in it? Wellâ€...

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How to make a nutrient solution for plants
How to make a nutrient solution for plants

Growing outdoors for beginners. Strictly speaking, a plant doesn’t need more than nature can give it. Most plants in nature grow in forests, moors and other unfertilised areas and they’re doing fine. But you’d like to have a good harvest this summer, so you want to shorten the growing phase. T...

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What do plants need in the grow phase?
What does a plant need in the growth phase?

Growing outdoors for beginners. Plants have different requirements in every new phase of their lives. As they get taller, they can also use a little of support and they will want to grow into all kinds of shapes you don’t want. So that means, feeding, supporting and pruning.

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Dosification of plagron fertlisers during the growth and flowering phase in one grow schedule
Creating and using a grow schedule

Growing outdoors for beginners. It doesn’t matter if they’re in pots or open soil: sooner or later your plants can use some help with their continued growth. But which nutrients should you use, how much of it and when? The answers to these questions are different in every phase of a plant’s li...

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Trouble and dangers of the growth phase
Trouble and dangers of the growth phase

Growing outdoors for beginners. Your plants are in the outdoors soil and their getting free light and moisture. That’s awesome, but that same free air also has some dangers. You can’t constantly protect your plants from pests, for example. And they could run into nutrient deficiencies. For the b...

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Protecting your plants from pests
Protecting your plants from pests

Growing outdoors for beginners. Check your plants for pests every day. The quicker you spot them, the better. If pests are already present on your plant, you’ll have to handle them in an environmentally friendly way. We don’t want chemicals on our plants, so we need a solid alternative. In some ...

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Plant begins flowering
Ready for the flowering phase?

Growing outdoors for beginners. A number of weeks have passed now and your plants have grown well. Some plants will need some extra growth time and the next phase will have to wait a while long. Nevertheless it’s almost time to start flowering!

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someone planting a young seedling with a garden shovel
Outlook: growing in May, June & July

Growing outdoors for beginners. Getting started with outdoor growing. The start of the year, from February through April, was the moment to prepare for your outdoor grow. During these months, you could improve your soil, buy the stuff that you’re going to need and germinate your seeds. You’ve ma...

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the plagron product selector being used on a tablet
Using the product selector

Growing outdoors for beginners. Before you take your plants outside, you have already chosen whether you’ll be growing in pots or open soil. You’ll need to fill pots with a substrate: a peat based soil. Obviously this is not necessary in open soil. But you can improve the soil you want to plant ...

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a calendar, marking the day may 14th with a push-pin, with plants outside written next to it
When can I move my plants outside?

Growing outdoors for beginners. Your seedlings have grown into young plants or you bought (or were given) cuttings. Now, you want to plant them outside. But it’s still early in the year and temperatures can still drop below freezing at night. Besides, the days are not as long as you’d like them ...

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Starting plants from cuttings will go much faster than starting plants from seeds.
Propagate from cuttings or seeds?

You can start your propagate from seeds that you need to germinate, grow, transplant and prepare for planting. But for many plant species you can also propagate from cuttings. You either make or buy cuttings. What are the advantages and drawbacks of growing from seeds and cuttings? And how do you ta...

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Flowering and harvest - Growing outdoors

Introduction to the flowering phase
Introduction to the flowering phase

Growing outdoors for beginners. After a long, warm summer outdoors, your plants have grown well. It won’t be long now until they start flowering. When flowering is over, it’s harvest time! Nice! But what is flowering and how can you make sure your plants flower well?

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When does flowering start?
When does flowering start?

Growing outdoors for beginners. Fruit-bearing plants flower for a much longer time than they grow. Most of the plant’s energy goes towards the forming of reproductive parts: flowers and fruits. So, when does flowering start?

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How can you recognise your plant’s bloom?
How can you recognise your plant’s bloom?

Growing outdoors for beginners. It’s around the middle of August and the days have shortened enough for your plant to start blooming. Maybe you tricked your plant into believing it was time by blacking it out. Anyway: it’s time for the flowering phase. But how can you tell if your plant is in bl...

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What does a flowering plant need? Nutrients.
What does a flowering plant need? Nutrients.

Growing outdoors for beginners. Although the flowering phase is pretty easy for the grower, the plant is working its ass off. Now is the right time to help it with some flowering nutrients.

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What does a flowering plant need? Support and maintenance.
What does a flowering plant need? Support a...

In Part I of this topic, we dealt with flowering nutrients. Now it’s time to physically help your plants. As their bloom continues, their branches will get heavier with flowers or fruit. This can cause them to bend or even hang down. In some cases this could lead to breakage and lost yield.

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Plants under foil
Dos & Don’ts of flowering: Dos

Growing outdoors for beginners. Besides flowering nutrients and plant support, there are other things you can do to help your plants. But you can also do things to harm them, even with the best intentions. Time to look over some dos and don’ts.

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Plant being watered
Dos & Don’ts of flowering: Don’ts

Growing outdoors for beginners. So, what are things your plants really aren’t happy with in the flowering phase? In this topic we’ll discuss things you’d better not do while your plants are in bloom.

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Protection against extreme weather
Protection against extreme weather

Growing outdoors for beginners. The weather has been getting more and more extreme the past few years. Summer can feature dry and hot periods with sudden hard rainfall or even hail. What can you do to protect your plants from extreme weather?

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Harvest time
What you need to know about harvesting

Your plants have been flowering for a while and the yield is starting to form up. You feel like it might be time to harvest soon. But how can you tell for sure? And what do you need to pay attention to during the harvest?

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How to recycle used soil
Using excess plant material to re-use soil ...

Growing outdoors for beginners. Your grow is done. The harvest is in and has been processed. Now, you’ve got plant remains and used soil left over. What can you do with these? Throwing them away is a waste, so let’s check out possibilities to recycle stuff and improve your soil fertility organic...

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Deficiencies

a plant suffering from a nitrogen deficiency that is clearly visible in its leaves
Identify symptoms of nitrogen deficiency in...

A nitrogen deficiency can be recognised by yellow leaves. This is because chlorophyll disappears from the leaves. You'll first see this happen in the older leaves at the bottom of the plant. This happens because plants transport the available nitrogen to their young leaves and growing points. Eventu...

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a plant suffering from a magnesium deficiency that is clearly visible in its leaves
Magnesium deficiency

A magnesium deficiency first becomes visible at the oldest leaves. Here small rust coloured or cloudy yellow spots will appear. Dead spots may also occur and leaf tips will curl up. As the spots spread, the leaves will turn more yellow. This causes the plant to look more and more tattered. In this s...

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Phosphorus deficiency
Phosphorus deficiency

The first sign of a phosphorus deficiency is a sudden growth stagnation. If the deficiency continues, a dark discolouration occurs at the older leaves. These leaves can be found at the bottom of the plant. Some plant varieties may show pale yellow or dark-blue green old leaves instead. This is due t...

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a plant suffering from a potassium deficiency that is clearly visible in its leaves
Low level of potassium in leaves: Symptoms ...

Plants suffering from a lack of potassium are smaller and have a short, limp stem. In addition, you can recognise the deficiency by smaller flower tops and pale fruits. Leaves can turn yellow or die off. This starts at the edges. There may also be brown or burned spots visible. A potassium deficienc...

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a bell pepper plant suffering from a calcium deficiency that is clearly visible in its leaves
Calcium deficiency in plants: Plant leaves ...

A calcium deficiency leads to various growth disorders, like deformed buds and leaves. The tips of the leaves will curl up. Brown spots will also be visible on the leaves. The deficiency starts in the new leaves, but its symptoms will first show on the middle leaves. Plants with a calcium deficiency...

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a bell pepper plant suffering from a molybdenum deficiency that is clearly visible in its leaves
Molybdenum deficiency

A molybdenum deficiency initially resembles a nitrogen deficiency. The oldest leaves at the bottom will turn yellow and might get dark spots. A molybdenum deficiency is recognised by a unique orange, red or pink colouring around the edges of the leaves. This colour may spread to the centre of the le...

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a bell pepper plant suffering from a copper deficiency that is clearly visible in its leaves
Copper deficiency

You're dealing with a lack of copper when young leaves start to wither and dry out. This happens because copper is not mobile in the plant, meaning young leaves draw copper from older leaves. The leaves curl down and hang limp. They will also get a faint blue glow. Stems, branches and twigs can be l...

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a bell pepper plant suffering from a boron deficiency that is clearly visible in its leaves
Boron deficiency

A boron deficiency is recognisable by discolouration of the younger leaves. You’ll also see a rust-coloured deposit on the crop. New leaves seem to have their ends burned. A lack of boron also renders the crop fragile. Roots are also vulnerable to boron deficiency: their growth will lag behind.

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a bell pepper plant suffering from a manganese deficiency that is clearly visible in its leaves
Manganese deficiency

A manganese deficiency closely resembles an iron deficiency. The difference is that manganese deficiency is mainly visible in leaves just below the top of the plant. Additionally, young leaves will get a light leaf colour followed by dark, brown spots. Another difference from an iron deficiency is t...

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a plant suffering from a zinc deficiency that is clearly visible in its leaves
Zinc deficiency

When there is a shortage of zinc, the younger leaves start to yellow between the veins. Leaves become discoloured and start to die. They can also have a unique striped pattern and the plant stops growing vertically. If the problem is not corrected in time, the plant might stop growing entirely or ev...

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a pepper plant suffering from a sulphur deficiency that is clearly visible in its leaves and fruits
Sulphur deficiency

Sulphur deficiency resembles nitrogen deficiency, but at the top of the plant. Because sulphur is not mobile, the deficiency is first observed in the younger leaves. These turn pale green, while the petioles get a strong purple tint. The leaf tips can curl up. If several leaves start to fade, the co...

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a tomato plant suffering from an iron deficiency that is clearly visible in its leaves
Iron deficiency

An iron deficiency is first visible at the top of the plant. Young leaves look as if they have been bleached. The leaves turn yellow, while the veins remain green. This is because iron is an immobile element. What this means is that iron, when fixated, can no longer be distributed in the plant. Even...

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Pests

multiple centipes visible in a cross section of soil
Centipedes: how to recognise damage?

Centipede damage is not instantly recognisable because centipedes eat the roots of your plants. They favour young plants. This damage to the roots stunts growth and reduces the crop yield. It also gives bacteria and fungi the chance to take hold in the damaged roots.

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a cabbage root fly larva inside the stem of a plant
Cabbage root flies: how to recognise damage?

The symptoms of cabbage root fly damage are almost always the same. The larvae eat the main root, causing it to turn brown at first. Eventually, it turns black and rots away completely. Damage can also be seen in the leaves. Since the root is damaged, they do not receive enough water and therefore w...

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a tree branch that has split open due to cicada damage
Cicadas: how to recognise damage?

Cicadas produce rows of spots on leaves, fruit and flowers. This considerably reduces the quality of the end product. In case of a serious plague, the leaves may completely discolour and die off. Cicadas can be recognised by their light green colour. In some cases, they can damage the leaves or tips...

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a thrip and its larvae on a leaf
Thrips: how to recognise damage?

Thrips cause silvery damage to the leaves of your plant. This is the result of the thrips sucking the leaf cells dry. They do this by scraping over the leaf. Thrips also leave their excrement on the leaves in the form of dark spots. You can also recognise damage caused by thrips due to deformation o...

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a white web over a plant's leaves and stem as a result of a mite infection
Spider mites: how to recognise damage?

A spider mite infection can cause considerable damage to your plants in a short time. Damage is first visible in the form of white or silvery spots. Next, you’ll see yellow spots that may eventually take over the entire leaf. At the last stage, the plant is covered in a white web. The mites themse...

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slugs on a leaf, with damage done clearly visible
Slugs and snails: how to recognise damage?

Slugs and snails can cause huge damage to your plant in a short period of time. You can recognise the damage they cause by the typical holes eaten out of the leaves. Of course, you will also spot their slime trails. Slugs cause more damage than snails.

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a plant with holes from caterpillar damage clearly visibile in the leaves
Caterpillars: how to recognise damage?

Damage caused by caterpillars can be recognised by leaves with nibbled holes or curled tips. This is traditionally seen in late summer and autumn. However, in recent years caterpillars have also been seen at the start of the growing season.

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a carrot fly on a leaf
Carrot flies: how to recognise damage?

The carrot fly can cause considerable damage to roots. Its maggots in particular can be very problematic. Carrot flies lay their eggs on the underside of the plant’s leaves. The larvae that emerge from these eggs eat their way through the leaves towards the roots. The larvae first feed on the fine...

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a fungus gnat on leaves on which it has caused damage
Fungus gnats: how to recognise damage?

You might not see the damage caused by fungus gnats straight away. This is because the larvae are active underground. They love the stems and roots of seedlings, young plants and cuttings. Damage caused by fungus gnats leads to plants absorbing less nutrients. The damaged roots are also more suscept...

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aphids crowding on a leaf
Aphids: how to recognise damage?

You can recognise aphid damage by the many white cast off skins left on the leaves or growth points of the plant. Aphids suck the nutrients and sap out of green plants. Every time an aphid bites into the plant, it forces its saliva into the plant cells. This infects the plant with viruses and weaken...

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leaf miner tunnels showing damage done to a leaf
Leaf miners: how to recognise damage?

Leaf miners can cause a lot of problems. They lay their eggs in the centre of a leaf. The hatching larvae then dig tunnels through the leaves to get to their food. These tunnels leave very noticeable white markings behind. The damage leads to leaves drying out and falling off. Adult female leaf mine...

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multiple whitelief on a leaf
Whiteflies: how to recognise damage?

Whiteflies can damage plants in various ways. First of all, they prick the leaves to extract nutrients. This causes the leaves to turn yellow and eventually fall off. Whiteflies also have toxic saliva that can cause a lot of damage to plants. Additionally, the insect can spread viruses. Finally, whi...

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Grow Stories

Habaneros: a dream come true
Habaneros: a dream come true

In other Grow Stories we’ve spoken to people who turned their plant hobby into a business or who collected plants as a passion. Daniele is another man with a passion for plants. He runs Habanero’s Farm, where he produces fine peppers for his spicy restaurant kitchen. For him, it’s a dream come...

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Excessive and prickly hobby
Excessive and prickly hobby

We see our customers grow lots of different plants. Various kinds of crops are being grown up with our fertilisers, substrates and additives. But would you expect that even cacti can benefit from our products? Leopoldo can tell you all about it. He runs the Wild Cactus Nursery and has been one of ou...

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Peppers: particular and exciting
Peppers: particular and exciting

We like to help growers share their methods so they can help and inspire each other. We can all learn from one another, so we’d like to share the insights of our growers! One of our loyal customers is Emanuele, the man behind a pepper farm in Sicily.

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Put some more green in your home
Put some more green in your home

Our products aren’t only suitable for fruit bearing plants. House plants can also benefit a lot from high quality plant nutrients. Stephanie can chip in on that. She runs a webshop were she sells dozens of varieties of house and chamber plants, from her own cultivation.

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A cinematographer grows his own vegetables
A cinematographer grows his own vegetables

Vidu is a professional cinematographer with roots in Sri Lanka and the Czech Republic. He wanted to grow his own vegetables for Sri Lankan dishes, but didn’t want to use soil. The solution? Plagron hydroponic products! Vidu will tell you in his own words.

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Growing peppers
Growing peppers

Last month we spoke to Emanuele from BL_Hotpepper. He was just starting his pepper season at that point. Let’s see how much his plants have progressed since then!

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Growing plants indoors

an orange fan on a table next to some wooden planks making up a wall
How fresh air and carbon dioxide help indoo...

Plants need fresh air to grow and dispose of their waste. The quality of the air plays a crucial role in photosynthesis. That makes fresh air important for taking your culture to a higher level. In nature fresh air is obviously readily available. But you also need to supply a continuous flow of fres...

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a plant with drops of water on its leaves
The basic needs for growing indoor plants

Like a human, your plant has a number of basic needs to survive and grow. In addition to food, these are light, water, carbon dioxide, temperature and humidity. These are also the most important indicators to make your indoor cultivation a success.

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a wooden thermometer lying among plants
How does temperature affect plant growth in...

It will not come as a surprise that your plants need the right temperature to grow. Photosynthesis only takes place optimally at the correct temperature. This makes finding the correct temperature very important. But which temperature is required for what?

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multiple rows of plants in pots bathing in light
The Kelvin colour scale of led lights for i...

Light is important for the growth and development of the plant. Additionally, light exposure can be used to help your plants from their growth phase into their flowering phase. This is because a plant starts preparing itself for the flowering phase when it gets less hours of light a day. As such, a ...

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plant leaves with drops of water or dew on them
Humidity control for indoor growing

Plants only grow successfully if the humidity of your grow room is in order. This means humidity affects the yield of your plants. By regulating the amount of the water vapor in the air, you also make sure that mold and mildew do not stand a chance.

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a plant with a bud ready to produce a flower
What is the first sign of flowering for an ...

The flowering phase is the final phase in the indoor plant's life cycle. It is perhaps the most important phase. But what are the signs of flowering? At the start of the flowering phase you will see the internodes get shorter. Internodes are the parts in between two branches. Further growth of the p...

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