Warning: My peppers grew gangly and weak until I put a tiny fan on them, but my friend swears she gets better yields by shaking the stalks by hand every morning

I started using a $15 desk fan on my balcony plants about three weeks ago after reading some study about how wind stress makes stems thicker, even tried it on half my seedlings while leaving the others untouched, but my friend in Austin says she's been hand-vibrating her tomato plants for five seasons with way more fruit than any fan setup she's tried, so which method actually works better for a cramped balcony garden in San Diego where the natural breeze barely reaches?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamiesingh1mo ago

Have you tried the classic "accidentally bump into the table while watering" method? That's my go-to, mostly because I'm clumsy and it's free.

ryanprice1mo ago

Hand-vibrating tomatoes every morning... sounds like a good way to get your neighbors to stop making eye contact. Maybe try both and see which one makes you feel less awkward on the balcony.