Forcing, Earthing up, Blanching..whats it all about?

Morning All,

Over the past year of learning how to grow fruit & veg I have come across the above terms and I was just wondering firstly, with what is the term or definition for when someone does something (e.g. forcing, earthing up, blanching) to get a desired outcome (in this case a higher yield/quicker harvest) from the crops they have planted.

Would it be called manipulation of the plant?

I ask this because I am interested in learning how to get more from what I plant (as to say I originally thought just planting and not doing anything else to the crop physically would be al that was needed but now I am learning about these terms/techniques I am keen to try them to get a bigger harvest).

As I understand it currently, you earth up potatoes for bigger yields, force rhubarb using a pot to get bigger stems and blanch leeks (or earth them up) to get bigger stems.

It would be interesting to get hold of something which would tell me how I can manipulate the plant in order to get more from it. Anyone got any sources?

I hope this makes sense & thank you for your time.

Samuel

 

Thank you for your reply.

Ah yes, yes we do.

I was thinking of trying to find an information source where I can learn tips that don't seem 'obvious' (beginner level) to get the most (quantity, quality) from what I grow.

So say tomatoes, I have read about planting the stem deeper in the hole, or lengthways n a small trench it. This as opposed to simply just planting seed and looking after the plant.

Leeks I have read about using pipes to help blanch them? So again, doing more than just planting seed.

So I wish to get my hands on a good information source where I can find all these tips & techniques for as many of the veg I am growing as I can.

Thank you for your reply,

Samuel

 

About the best general veg and fruit growing book I've come across is "The Vegetable and Fruit Expert" by Dr. D.G. Hessayon. It won't answer all you questions but will give you very good general guidance. I was given a copy about ten years ago and refer to it frequently.
I was in our local Tesco today and noticed they were now selling it in second edition which is good as many of the chemicals mentioned in my edition are no longer available to amateur gardeners.

Regarding leeks - plant them in holes and they'll earth up themselves !