Forum: gardening.stackexchange.com
Tags: <growth>
Title: Is there a way to grow plants super fast while it still being organic (i.e. healthy)?
Question: Is there a way to grow plants super fast while it still being organic (i.e. healthy)?  Wheat / vegetables / fruits / etc...

Answers:
sents: text: There isn't a way to force plant growth any faster than it's programmed to be either organically or inorganically.
text: What you can do, though, is provide optimum growing conditions for whatever plant it is, which will give the healthiest plants with the best growth rate possible.
text: This means providing fertile, healthy soil which has been improved regularly with the addition of humus rich materials, sufficient space for each plant, sufficient light/sunlight and water, and for some plants, the best soil ph that suits.
text: Optimal temperature range helps too, but that's not something you can do much about (other than growing at the right time of year) unless you grow in artificial conditions like a greenhouse or polytunnel.
answer_details: author: gardening.stackexchange.com/users/1380/Bamboo
score: 7
sents: text: Plants are best grown at their own pace.
text: I always joke about "Miracle Gro" asking people if they would feed their kids crack if that would help them grow faster.
text: Jokes aside, when plants take their natural time - some just grow naturally fast, they have a better chance of putting down good roots, fighting diseases, healing and producing a good crop.
text: That itself can be seen as "speed".
text: Following growing instructions specific to your zone/area/region, providing them ample sunlight, trying to give them only the required water - not too much and not too little, giving them natural disease fighting mechanisms such as inviting birds that can eat bugs, adding ladybugs that help with aphids, mulching them correctly and thoroughly can all help them grow at a vigorous pace.
text: If you are so inclined, fertilizers that are certified organic are available.
text: You could use those.
text: And/or use good quality compost, either of your own making, or bought from good sources.
text: If you have to use pesticides or herbicides at all, if you choose organic ones and apply them judiciously, you can avoid toxins in your produce, and prevent plants from getting injured.
text: So, doing all that, is better than fussing around with hormones.
text: There is an ancient Indian saying that roughly translates to , "the gardener can choose to haul a 100 pails of water, the fruit arrives when the season does".
text: So, take it easy, relax and give the plants the time they need.
answer_details: author: gardening.stackexchange.com/users/7499/Srihari Yamanoor
score: 6
sents: text: Yes.
text: You need to find out that specific plants preferred pH level and the amount of sunlight it ideally needs throughout the day and try and give it the exact amounts it requires.
text: Also, aeration of the soil and the exact amount of water is very important.
text: DO NOT overwater.
text: I've found a drip-watering system to be the most effective for some heavy drinker types (tomatos, peaches, cucumber, etc.)
text: You can adjust the pH if you get a pH meter and use, for example crushed bone, Dolomite or hydrated lime, and a whole host of other materials.
text: It really depends drastically from plant to plant what their ideal environment is though...
answer_details: author: gardening.stackexchange.com/users/15930/Phillippe Greenough
score: 1
sents: text: Look up aeroponics (growing the roots in total darkness, and fed/watered by a microspray instead of soil), it will grow normally and faster than usual.
text: It might not be possible for it to be "certified organic", but I suggest growing the "outside" in a clear plastic bag and manually pollinating with a toothbrush or something, to keep both pests and pesticides off of it.
answer_details: author: gardening.stackexchange.com/users/15932/M.L.
score: 1
sents: text: I don't have an answer that's not purely anecdotal, but last year I created a metal
text: a sub-irrigated planter(google it), and I experienced incredible results.
text: First off, a sub-irrigated planter is a planter in which the water is forced up from the bottom.
text: The main advantage of this is the oxygenation of the soil as the water level goes up and down around the roots.
text: That's a basic sub-irrigated planter, and I got great results doing just that.
text: I got kind of crazy with it though and installed temperature-controlled heaters on the bottom of the metal planter.
text: When I install the heaters on the bottom, the plants started standing more erect than any I had ever seen and starting growing at an unprecedented pace.
text: I had peppers within a few weeks.
text: One of the big advantages of the way I did it was that I pumped water up from a bucket underneath the planter whenever level got low, and I just added plant food to the bucket that it pumped from so it went straight to the roots.
answer_details: author: gardening.stackexchange.com/users/15939/Jesse Teal
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
You can provide optimum growing conditions so they grow as fast as possible. You could also try aeroponics for faster growth.
 There isn't a way to force plant growth either organically or inorganically but what you can do is provide optimum growing conditions which will give the healthiest plants with the best growth rate possible. Plants are best grown at their own pace. Specific plants have preferred pH levesl and amount of sunlight and you can ensure this.