The growing season should be distinguished from the growing season. These two concepts are often confused when it comes to recommendations on agricultural technology. The vegetation period is that part of the calendar year when plants grow and develop (in accordance with local climatic conditions). This concept came to agricultural engineering from meteorology. But the growing season is a biological concept. It indicates the developmental time for a particular species or plant variety. And it covers the period from the beginning of seedlings to harvesting. Different garden crops vary in accordance with the duration of the different stages of this period and are called early or late, as well as mid-season.
The vegetation period of plants will be different in the northern and southern regions. This must be considered before selecting and adapting the variety for planting. In the southern regions of the CIS, plants of almost all maturity periods can be grown. And in the north they, if they grow, do not ripen every year.
The growing season in vegetable growing
In order not to get confused in the differences between meteorological and biological concepts, gardeners began to allocate time from the appearance of seedlings to the end of the harvest. And they called it his growing season. Indeed, in a vegetable-growing culture, plants often do not go through the full ripening cycle due to the fact that the harvest must end before the seeds fully ripen. For example, it is better to harvest corn in the so-called phase of milk ripeness. Cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as other vegetable crops that are harvested more than once, are characterized by a growing season, which is measured by the length of time from the first to the last harvest.
In many respects this is influenced by external conditions. As well as the features of the variety. Vegetable crops are divided into early ripening, mid-ripening and late ripening, and the differences between the ripening dates of their fruits can vary up to several months. In adverse conditions (lack of water and sun, unexpected frosts, floods), almost any variety can unexpectedly increase its growing season. This can significantly disrupt the plans of the grower and breeder.
Growth and development of vegetables during the growing season
Quantitative changes in plant organisms are associated with the transformation of their cells, parts and organs. Weight and size change, as does appearance. And it affects the entire growing season. What does this mean for gardeners?
A study of the heredity of plant organisms, as well as their susceptibility to environmental influences, will help the gardener to create optimal conditions for obtaining the maximum yield. After all, vegetables (for example, potatoes), not adapted to the soil and weather conditions of this particular area, show a very low productivity and do not justify the cost of breeding and care. For annuals (cucumbers, tomatoes), such conditions are important in which growth and development occur in parallel. This contributes to early, abundant fruiting and optimal ripening. There are many techniques that inhibit the development of the plant organism at the initial stage and then provide a rapid increase in mass.
