Bonding with your Plants
Laugh if you will, but every good gardener will spend time
bonding with his crop. And, I have never seen a plant object to bonding
with the grower. If you want a really healthy and productive plant, do not
skip this all important part of the gardening experience. If this author
is not enough of a testimonial let me give you a more convincing
example.....
One summer, I had the opportunity to host a number of
friends at a picnic at my home. These friends were on their first visit to
the U.S. from China. I had met them through several visits there. One of
my friends(who happened to have a farming background) immediately walked
up to "check out" my garden. Upon seeing my Atlantic Giant
pumpkin, he kneeled down, stroked the fruit very gently and said
"Nice Nangua, grow Nangua". (Nangua, being Mandarin for
Pumpkin). He was downright sincere and complimented both me and the plant.
He also mentioned that you had to develop a relationship with your plants
to help them to grow. This pumpkin was destined to be my biggest ever and
in only my second year of growing reached 150 pounds. Apparently bonding
with your plants is known and practiced all over the world.
A wide variety of scientific studies have suggested that
this phenomenon is true. Some studies hooked up electrodes to test plant
reaction to good and to bad comments. The results: you guessed
it....plants responded negatively to threats and negative comments and
positively to good comments and praise. Believe it or not, you make the
call!
The above examples are positive proof to the universal
belief in bonding with your plants. In fact, bonding is successful with
any vegetable or flowers in your garden. In all of the plant world,
Zucchini is the only plant which does not respond to bonding. Zucchini
grows prolifically all by itself and does not need your help!
Types of Bonding:
The most common form of bonding with your plants is simply
to talk to them. They responds quite well to positive re-enforcement. They
also responds negatively to criticism and negative re-enforcement. Don't
ever threaten your plants or mention your doubts and disappointments
within hearing range of the plant. The mere mention of your disappointment
of it's growth rate can cause the growth to completely stop for a period
of time. The old saying "One aw_hit is worth a hundred Attaboys"
is very relevant here. Fortunately, plants have extremely poor hearing,
about ten feet.
A second form of bonding is singing to your plants. This
is slightly more effective than talking in an encouraging manner to your
crop. It also can backfire as the choice of music is vital. Those of us
who can not sing can turn off the plants growth and development with our
off-tune attempts to promote growth, and result in stunting all growth.
Sad songs and slow elevator music can also result in reduced production.
Slow music can put your plant to sleep. An upbeat, fast tempo is the
preferred choice. However, marches are to be avoided as they may cause the
plant to grow too quickly. In the cucurbita (pumpkins and squash) world,
musical "marches" have resulted in pumpkins literally bursting.
Plants respond best to love songs during the pollination period,
especially during early morning hours when pollination peaks. A plant,
like the animal world, must be in the mood for ideal pollination to occur.
Playing recorded music is scientifically proven to produce
favorable results, although markedly less effective than the personal
touch of your voice or a five piece orchestra performing live in your rose
garden. Use the same selection of songs as described for singing.
A few musically inclined growers will bring out their
instruments and play to their crops. Again, keep in mind the type of
music. There is speculation that symphonic bands are more effective than
jazz or orchestra. I am currently researching this and will update you
shortly(don't hold your breath).
Finally, language plays absolutely no role in plant growth
results. It doesn't matter whether you speak english, french, mandarin or
any other language or dialect. My example at the beginning of this article
is proof that plants are multi-linguistic.The common belief is voice tone
and inflection is most important.
A final form of bonding is to camp out and sleep with your
plants as they grow. This is the real proof that you are truly a dedicated
gardener. Anyone who pursues prize winning pumpkins or watermelons will
attest that you might as well sleep in the field, because you need to
spend most of your time there. Last year my wife(saint that she is)
suggested I sleep in the shed or next to the plants as she sees little of
me during the growing season anyway .
Conclusion:
I have no doubts that bonding is an important part of the
process. If you are still not convinced, think about the fact that the
more attached you are to your plants, the more you think about their needs
and the more you observe the condition of both the plant and it's
environment on a daily basis. This awareness translates to recognizing the
needs of your plant and reacting at an early stage to what you see.
Through bonding you are more active in it's care and fussy about every
little aspect of growing.
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