Here’s an example of how plants can have stunted growth when they are dwarfed by other taller plants, and thus starved of sunlight.
Look closely at the picture and you will see three cavolo nero kale plants, all planted on the same day.
The furthest away is the tallest of the three plants by a long shot, because it has full access to sunlight. The middle plant, a little smaller, is partially blocked by the broccoli plant in front of it, and the closest plant, the smallest, has barely grown at all because it is more or less completely hidden by broccoli plants.
We thought we’d show our customers this photo as it is such a good example of why it is important to consider which plants you grow and where you position them within a bed. You want the tallest plants at the back, i.e along the northernmost edge of the bed. Then, smaller plants would go in front of them so that both the taller and shorter plants get maximum sunlight.
This is also a good thing to be aware of with planting out autumn/winter plants because so often at this time of year the sun is blocked by trees or hedges or buildings (where during the summer it was high enough that they weren’t a problem) – you can see how drastically growth slows when plants get too little sunlight.
At this time of year, when planting up (and regardless of whether you choose to grow in blocks, or rows, or in pots and containers), be mindful of the eventual height that plants will reach and be sure to put the shorter plants at the front and the taller plants at the back.