Page 19 - Simply Veg 1 2024

Largest potato
a wall which meant the haulms drew up quite a bit as they were growing, perhaps focusing on fighting for light than on bulking up tubers. However, it was the only spot we really had left in the garden at the time of planting, short of placing the pots in the middle of the little patch of lawn we have under the washing line – even I drew the line at that!
In terms of skin finish, it didn’t seem too bad. There was some “netting” on some of the tubers which wouldn’t do you any favours if you wanted to exhibit them, but
Weighing potatoes
others seemed fine and there weren’t any noticeable blemishes. Therefore, good result from that perspective growing in coir.
We also tried some tomatoes in coir compost in 2023, with success. Unlike the potatoes, we grew a few varieties of tomatoes where we grew two plants of the same variety – one in coir, and one
in multipurpose peat-based compost. We’re pleased to report that there was no noticeable difference in the yield or taste between the two growing mediums. In fact, the coir-based plants grew faster
and looked healthier when they were first planted out than the others. However, this soon evened out and therefore we have put it down to the strength of the slow-release fertiliser that we added to the coir initially versus what is in the multipurpose compost we bought than anything else.
As with the potatoes, the coir-based tomatoes did seem to dry out more quickly in their pots, but a daily top up of water during the hottest days over the summer meant this never seemed to detrimentally affect them.
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