How to train your plants for better results!

In a lot of different types of hydroponic situations, it's not really a great idea to let your plants grow all over the place. For starters, in a closed grow box system, you only have a certain amount of space to work with. Also, as in soil-based gardens, plants tend to grow in ways that they can't support as they start to bear fruit. Here are some of the most common ways that growers train plants to grow in a specific direction.

Vertical Training

A number of vertical training tools in hydroponics are similar to what you might see in a traditional garden. Growers use items like strings, stakes, ladders and trellises to direct plants upward. They might do this in order to maximize space, or to get light distributed evenly. In any case, vertical training has to do with the weight of the plant and its ability to attach itself to a structure.

Horizontal Training

In other situations, growers might use a screen or other system to get plants to grow horizontally instead of vertically. This is often done for the purposes of distributing light, where a plant on its side will get more light to nodes or clusters.

Selective Pruning

Growers can also prune or cut plants in various places for correctional growth. In a lot of cases, growers are simply trimming down plants to prevent them from growing in all directions. They’ll cultivate plants according to a specific pruning strategy which will allow them to grow in one consistent direction, again, toward light, or in a closed space.

Upside-Down Approach For Vining Plants

Another big tip for training in hydroponics is to allow many types of vining plants to simply grow downward instead of trying to train them on an upward stake or trellis. This is one of the great benefits of hydroponics, that this type of downward growth is possible. In traditional gardening, it was not possible to allow vining plants to grow down. However, in hydroponics it's absolutely viable and it's a much better way for these plants to grow. They're more comfortable because as they grow fruits and add weight, they're relying on the strength of their stem and they don't have to push the weight of the plant upward.

For more on how to pursue hydroponic gardening, check out everything that we maintain on Dealzer, including the best gear and the best grow advice, a one-two combination for growing success.