Thinning plants in your vegetable garden can lead to bigger, better harvests. When plants are crowded with others they compete for water, sun, and nutrients and tend to be stunted and unproductive. When plants have plenty of room to grow they're more likely to perform well. Thinning plants also provides improved air circulation, helping reduce the likelihood of fungal diseases. Gardeners can give their plants the best chance for success by removing competition; this is thinning out the garden bed.

Thinning should not be confused with pruning. Pruning is the practice of removing branches and parts of a specific plant, thinning is removing the entire plant.

When you thin plants choose an appropriate method of removal. Small seedlings can be pulled from the ground. But be cognizant of nearby plants. If you yank one plant you may disturb the roots of its neighbor and effectively destroy both plants.
 
If plants are close together and you suspect pulling one of them will affect another, cut the plant to be thinned. Pruning shears or small scissors work well to cut the stem close to the ground. Cucumbers, beans, peas, squash, and melons have tender roots and are best thinned by cutting if the plants are anywhere near each other.

Plants that sit alone can be dug up with a trowel or shovel. Digging up a plant may provide the opportunity to transplant it to another location. I'll often thin out my flower beds and transplant the thinned seedlings to another part of the bed or pot them to be given away.

Thick groupings of plants like lettuce, spinach, and other greens can be thinned with a rake. When the plants are about an inch tall lightly drag a rake across the soil surface. The tines will remove some of the small plants while leaving others spaced apart.

When determining how to thin and how much space to provide, think about the final size of the plant.

Seed packets often provide guidance for thinning. A carrot seed packet says to thin to 1 to 3 inches; carrots are narrow and don't spread so you only need enough space for the big root to grow. An onion seed packet says to thin to 2 to 5 inches; onions grow bigger than carrots and need more room between them. Lettuce may need 8 or 10 inches, or more, depending on the size of the mature head.

Big, vining plants like squash take up a lot of garden space and thinning them enables the gardener to direct the growth. Thinning also controls the future harvest. I planted six zucchini seeds but I only want two plants; six plants would produce more zucchini than I could ever use while two is very manageable. The strongest, best-spaced plants remain.

Plants can be thinned at any stage of their life cycle, but it's most beneficial to do it when they're young. After the second set of true leaves emerges, seedlings are usually strong enough to survive. That's a good time to decide which ones stay and which ones go. Thinning small plants before they stunt the growth of a neighbor is better than waiting until after they become a problem.

You can delay thinning edible plants like lettuce, spinach, and beets until the leaves are big enough for a salad. Thin these out to give room for the remaining plants and then use them in the kitchen. Root crops like carrots, radishes, and turnips will be quite tasty when small; thin out these plants periodically at different sizes and eat them too.

I often conduct two phases of thinning. I'll remove seedlings before they stunt the growth of their neighbors and then wait a few weeks for the plants to get healthy and strong. Then I thin a second time to choose the strongest plants with the best spacing for the bed. This works particularly well for plants like squash and cucumbers when I want the biggest and healthiest plants headed into my short growing season.

It's best to thin in the early evening with the soil damp. Damp soil allows small plants to be pulled easily and the absence of harsh sun allows the remaining plants to get used to their new conditions before immediate exposure to heat and light. Watering well after thinning a bed also gives the remaining plants an extra boost along with their newfound spacing.

It's possible to plant a garden and never thin out anything. Sowing seeds and placing transplants with perfect spacing between them means you don't need to remove overcrowded plantings. This can work well for big seeds like pumpkins and plants like tomatoes and peppers. I place them in my garden where I want them and wait for the harvest. I sow my beans and peas in a perfectly spaced grid that allows them to grow up a trellis; their seeds are big and easy to place. Blocks of corn are planted with ideal spacing too.

Many other seeds like carrots, lettuce, onions, and spinach are sown randomly in rows and then thinned out after the plants emerge. The seeds are too small to place with exact measurement and it's easier to wait to thin after germination reveals which small plants need to be removed. Other seeds like beets are easy to place but multiple plants will emerge from a single seed and then need to be thinned.

Plants with bigger seeds like cucumbers, melons, and squash are often sown closer together than the final plants will be. Varying rates of germination, insect damage, and uneven sowing means some plants will start off better than others. It's common to plant six of these kind of seeds in a mound, get four or five that grow, and then reduce them to two or three plants. This allows you to choose the biggest and best plants for that garden area.

This year I planted many, many pickling cucumber seeds in a raised bed. I've had problems in the past with low germination rates, sun and hail damage, and insects eating seedlings. Extra attention by me, and gentle, warm weather resulted in more than 80 plants emerging. That's many more than that bed can support so about 75 percent need to be thinned out. The remaining 20 plants should provide plenty of cucumbers. Because they won't have to compete for water, sun, and nutrients, those 20 plants will produce more fruit than 80 overcrowded plants in the same space.

All of those seeds came from the same packet. Seed packets may provide dozens of seeds when you only need a handful of plants. Because seeds are only viable for one or two seasons it makes sense to plant many of them and select the ones you want after the plants begin to grow.

Emotionally, it can be difficult to thin out healthy plants. Most of us work hard to get our plants to grow and then we have to intentionally undo our labor. That's one reason I transplant the thinned out plants when I can. For those who are hesitant to thin, try an experiment. Thin half of a bed and let the other half grow as sown. At harvest or the end of the season, compare the two sections. Chances are the thinned half will be healthier and more productive.

When the thinned out plants find a place in the kitchen or compost pile you can gather solace by knowing that they served a purpose in the garden.

Like weeding, thinning is a necessary activity to keep garden plants healthy and productive. When done properly the beneficial results will be obvious.

_Late winter and early spring are the best times of year to prune fruit trees. Pruning before spring bud break allows the tree to send energy and growth to the branches that you choose with selective pruning. If you wait until the tree is actively growing you waste some of the tree's energy resources and increase the chance of harmful pests and disease invading through the wounds that pruning creates.

Fruit trees in the home garden grow best when they are pruned and trained while young. Proper pruning results in a stronger, healthier tree with the potential for more and bigger fruit. When done correctly, older trees will need almost no pruning as they produce an abundance of fruit in later years.

_Many trees that gardeners purchase arrive as bare-root "whips" with few or no side branches. These small, spindly specimens resemble a stick with just a few roots at a twisted base to identify it as a tree. After planting according to appropriate instructions, prune the top of the whip about three feet (one meter) above the soil line. Make your pruning cut about 1/4 inch (.6 centimeters) above an obvious bud. This helps to promote growth of new branches in the first year.

If you plant a container-grown tree, try to keep as many branches as possible in the first year. Only cut off twigs and branches that are obviously dead or broken. Even weak and small branches will produce leaves that will help increase root development.

In the second year, after becoming established, you can begin to remove branches to help the tree achieve maximum growth. The idea is to train your tree by keeping branches that are strong, healthy, and well-spaced for even growth. Remove branches that are interfering with others, that are broken, and that are poorly or unevenly spaced.

_Look for multiple branches that are all emerging from the same spot on the trunk. If left to grow they will create a weak point. By removing all but one or maybe two of these branches you are increasing the tree's structure and strength.

_Look for branches that emerge from the trunk at a sharp angle; the ones that are growing nearly vertically, close to the trunk. These branches will grow into weak limbs that can break easily in later years. You want to remove them and keep the other branches that angle out evenly.

In the second year I'll keep extra branches on some whips, even if they aren't perfectly spaced. If you remove too many branches too soon, you affect root development and that results in a weaker tree.

In the third year continue removing the interfering and multiple branches. Remove weak and broken ones. You'll probably begin seeing "suckers", the branches that emerge close to the base of the tree at ground level. Prune all the suckers. They have no benefit and will rob the tree of nutrients.

_The third year is also when you can usually begin to develop the shape of your future fruit tree. It's important to remember that branches never grow up with the tree. A branch that is two feet above the soil will always be two feet above the soil. If you want a tree with a nice spot for climbing or sitting, anticipate the appropriate height and prune accordingly.

My fruit trees are at this point and I've pruned off many of the lower branches. They are beginning to look like trees and I'm beginning to visualize where I want the base branches to be in the future. With my harsh winters I don't want to get too aggressive too early in the life of the tree. I'll keep options available by keeping branches unpruned three and four feet high. I know the branches below that aren't needed so they can go.

_For all pruning cuts I look for the bark ridge and branch collar. When you look closely where the branch grows out from the trunk you'll see wrinkled bark at the top of the crotch; that's the bark ridge. The base of the branch is broader and more bulbous, almost like shoulders; that's the collar. Cuts should be just outside the collar, not cutting into either the bark ridge or collar. The cut will be at an angle to the vertical trunk. That allows the tree trunk to grow around the cut, sealing it and protecting the tree from future damage or disease.

_Never make a flush cut, right against the trunk. It may look look like it's right and is recommended by some arborists and "experts", but it can severely impact the tree. The cells that grow into a protective barrier are located in the branch collar. If you cut into the collar or through it, the tree can't grow properly to seal the cut. You've created a wound that is open to disease organisms and to insect pests.

You don't need wound dressing either. When pruned correctly, the cut will begin healing soon. Applying paint or dressing offers no benefit and can aid disease organisms by giving them protective cover. Just leave the the cut alone to heal naturally.

Remember one of the primary reasons for pruning in late winter or early spring is to reduce the chance that harmful organisms are present. As soon as the tree springs to life with warming weather, pruning cuts will begin to heal along with the new green growth.

By focusing on correct pruning when fruit trees are young you save yourself effort and worry compared to when the trees are older. It's much easier to remove a branch that is only half an inch (1.3 centimeters) thick than it is to deal with it when it is four inches (10 cm) wide. If you allow weak branches to grow, they can break under the weight of heavy fruit or snow, possibly endangering the life if the entire tree.

Once you begin to regularly prune, it becomes a quick activity. Major sculpting and forming of the tree's shape is done early when branches are small and easy to cut. Each subsequent year you only need to remove branches that are broken, dying, or have a problem. For half a dozen fruit trees the yearly pruning can be completed in about an hour.

I look forward to my annual pruning. Throughout the year I observe how the trees are growing and try to visualize their future shape. When they are dormant, with leaves gone, I can accurately see which branches will best suit the desired growth and prune accordingly. With each new season's growth I analyze and critique my decision and modify the next year's pruning as needed.

A healthy and well-shaped fruit tree will enhance any home garden. It just takes a little effort and foresight to give you a strong chance of success.

For more information about pruning trees, particularly older trees, see my article "Trees Like Prunes."
 

Pumpkins grow in many gardens. Harvesting the big, orange globes in autumn and carving them for Halloween is part of Americana. Made into pumpkin pie, they provide a delectable treat. For many of us, we want a lot of pumpkins and we like them big, but as the growing season wanes those desires are at odds with each other. Often, you can have many pumpkins or you can have large pumpkins, but you can't have both.

Pumpkins are basically a squash. Like most squash plants, they will keep producing flowers and small fruit until a freeze hits. A typical pumpkin plant will have only two primary vines, but will have numerous flowers develop along their lengths as they continually creep beyond the confines of their growing space. The flowers are either male or female with just one goal in mind: make baby pumpkins.

Like all other plants, they put a lot of effort into developing the baby pumpkins. To the plant it doesn't matter how big the fruit grows as long as it produces seeds to enable the pumpkin family to continue for future generations. So the plant churns out a lot of flowers and a lot of baby pumpkins. A lot of small, baby pumpkins. Humans, particularly Americans, think bigger is better.

To get big fruit you need to threaten the plant. When the vines have many babies growing along them, they'll send relatively equal amount of nutrients to each so that they can all grow and develop. When some of those offspring suddenly disappear, the plant boosts the energy to the remaining fruit so that they'll grow quickly and overcome whatever catastrophe caused the loss.

You need to be that catastrophe. With just a few weeks before the first frost, time becomes an adversary when it comes to growing big pumpkins. By plucking off flowers and pruning very small fruit, you divert extra energy to the remaining parts of the plant. When only one or two pumpkins remain on the vine, all of the energy from those large, elephant-ear leaves flows to them. The boost is enough to cause a perceptible size increase.

To get big pumpkins, first look at the flowers. After you have the young pumpkins on the vine, remove the flowers that can develop into competition. To make it easy, remove them all. To save effort, look closely at them. Male flowers will be on long, thin stalks. Female flowers will grow on shorter stalks with a very small bulb at their base; that is the baby pumpkin in the making. You really only need to remove the female flowers to prevent additional pumpkins.

Don't act too quickly, though. Wait until your chosen fruit is at least the size of a softball. It's not unusual for baby pumpkins to shrivel on the vine. The plant does its own job of selective pruning when a fruit is competing too much with a neighbor or if it isn't ideally located on the vine. You don't want your favorite baby to be one that the plant sacrifices at the same time you're removing all other potential pumpkins.
 
You can also remove fruit of any size that has already developed in an effort to boost the size of the remaining ones. Use pruning shears or a sharp knife to separate them from the plant. The vines can be prickly so it's a good idea to wear gloves. How many you remove is up to you.

A typical vine will produce up to five pumpkins, potentially more. Competitive pumpkin growers will select the single, fastest-growing pumpkin on a plant and remove all others. That's one way they grow monstrous pumpkins. If you're growing for Halloween carving, you may want to keep one or two of the pumpkins that are perfectly shaped and remove ones that don't match up. If you're going for size, keep the biggest and remove all of the small, developing ones. If you want quantity, be happy with the three or four that are doing best and sacrifice the rest; accept that they all won't reach their full size potential.

My best vine has two pumpkins that are already growing past 10 inches in diameter. They look great and I'm very happy with them. Another on that vine is about eight inches and there's one more about the size of an orange. Though I'd like all four, the smallest just doesn't have enough time to develop in the two or three weeks remaining before our potential first frost. To benefit the other three, it has to go.

My wife planted her own vines in a separate bed a few weeks after I did. The late start is reflected in the size of her pumpkins. They are just now approaching the softball stage. To have any hope of sizable fruit on her plants we have been systematically removing all of the flowers and will soon remove some of the small pumpkins once we determine the best candidates. We may be left with a single pumpkin on each vine to hope for a harvest.

Pumpkins are up to 90 percent water and pruning the plant will induce stress so be sure to continue watering the vines. You don't want to overdo it with saturated soil, but just because there are fewer pumpkins on the vine it doesn't mean the plant's water needs have decreased. Continue normal irrigation.

You probably aren't growing a champion pumpkin over 1,810 pounds (the current record). You just want some that will delight your kids or grandkids, or make a good pie. I don't like to unnecessarily harm or prune any plant, but when it comes to pumpkins, selective pruning will provide the best results. In many respects, for pumpkins size does matter.