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Seed merchant instructions- I don’t understand!
Can someone explain the odd spacing instructions on so many seed packets? For example, my cape gooseberry packet says that they can go into 9 inch pots or 2 feet apart in the border. I’ve always put them in the border, and the 2 feet separation works fine. But I’m considering using some pots this year because of space issues. I don’t understand why the much smaller capacity in a 9 inch pot will be adequate? Given that a plant in a pot is completely dependent on you for all of its water and feed, why doesn’t it need more volume of growing medium? I’ve noticed this wide variation on many seed packets. The only thing that occurs to me is the competition with neighbours in the border, but even allowing for that, it’s a big difference.
Carmarthenshire (mild, wet, windy). Loam over shale, very slightly sloping, so free draining. Mildly acidic or neutral.
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The spacings can seem odd, even wasteful, but they have been derived from years of experience to maximise crop yield and often to protect the health of the plant (think of a bed of strawberries that could be in 2-3 years, the usually recommended spacing is partly to prevent fungal disease quickly spreading through a bed as well as ensuring each plant is not competing with neighbours).
At times it is OK to break the rules, if for example the soil is very fertile, also look into intensive cropping system. Generally though the spacing is guidance for best results from years of experience, over a wide range of growing conditions.