What does it mean when...

What Does It Mean When You Say...

Has it ever happened to you that you were reading an article and it seemed too technical and incomprehensible? There's no need to panic and frantically flip through a dictionary. Some terms can be easily deduced, you just need to know how.

Let's start nicely in order, alphabetically:

Alpines - rock garden plants. Low perennial plants, suitable for planting in rock gardens. These are plants originally from high mountains.

Soil bacteria - are the most important element in humus formation (decomposition of compost, manure and plant residues). Bacteria thrive in warm and moist soil. They are observable under a microscope.

Herbs - green plants with a non-woody stem.

Tea roses - large-flowered roses. These roses were brought to Europe from China.

Woody plants - a collective name for trees and shrubs. These plants have a woody stem.

Biennials - plants, flowers that have a two-year vegetation cycle. Biennial seeds are usually sown in June-August. The plants overwinter and bloom the following spring. Biennials include, for example, pansies, forget-me-nots and daisies.

Suckers - these are premature shoots of grapevine. Suckers form in the leaf axils. We break off suckers while they are young and brittle. Neglecting this would cause an overly dense bush. You may also encounter this term with tomatoes, where suckers form in the leaf axils.

Hilling - this is the piling of soil onto plants. Most often you'll use hilling when growing asparagus or leeks. Depending on the age of the plant, we pile up 20-30 cm high mounds. This is so that young plants continue to grow upward through the soil, and thus remain white below the surface. TIP: if you use hilling for potatoes, you'll ensure substantially higher yields.

Layering - layering is most commonly used to propagate currants, gooseberries, grapevines and hazelnut. Layering works by bending long annual shoots and securing them in 5-20 cm deep furrows. After placement, these are covered with light compost soil.

Thinning - after 10 to 20 cm, vegetables sown directly in their permanent location are thinned. ATTENTION good TIP: When thinning, you can leave larger distances, thus dividing the thinning into two stages. In the second stage, you'll be thinning larger and stronger plants, which you can more easily use for consumption. Most commonly perform thinning on root vegetables - carrots, parsley and also onions.

Germination - this refers to seed germination. It's the ability by which seeds are able to sprout and grow into a new plant. Seeds must be mature, not overage and healthy. Germination in seeds lasts for varying lengths of time. It can be several days, but also several years.

Annuals - grow, bloom, produce seeds and die within one year. They usually have a beautiful profusion of flowers.

Seed treatment - this is a method by which we protect seeds from disease pathogens. Whether pathogens that are on the seed surface or those that are inside the seed (seedling). Seeds can be treated by dry or wet methods. 90% of seeds purchased in stores are already treated.

Mulching - this involves covering the soil surface. Mulch is laid for several reasons - to retain moisture in the soil, to prevent weed growth and to prevent soil crusting. Mulching is also used for strawberries and cucumbers - to prevent the fruits from lying directly on the soil.

Seeds - various plant varieties are propagated by seeds. Seeds can be both seeds and fruits. Quality seeds meet these requirements: species authenticity, purity, germination rate, uniformity (seeds are the same size and produce uniform plants), moisture content (prescribed for each species), utility value, absolute weight (=weight of 1000 seeds) and last but not least, the health status of the seeds.

Pergola - is a wooden structure that serves as a support for climbing plants. Plants can climb on the sides of the structure or over the roofing of the structure.

Germination percentage - determines the percentage of viable seeds from the total number.

Pricking out = transplanting seedlings to a greater distance from each other. We prick out with a wooden peg when young plants start to crowd each other. We also prick out so that seedlings achieve greater branching and have enough space for new root growth.

Top dressing - with top dressing we regulate plant development in its various growth stages. We feed young plants with nitrogen fertilizers to support growth. We feed older plants with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers for abundant flowers and timely fruits. In autumn we apply potassium fertilizers to increase frost resistance.

Soil crust - forms especially after heavy rains. The soil becomes muddy and after drying it compacts, thus creating a soil crust. The soil is compacted and therefore impermeable to air, water and plant roots.

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Author: Hana Michalíková