Page 67 - Simply Vegetables Summer 2023

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Allotment
going on
– with AutoPot
At the height of summer anything else seems unimaginable. How could a day not stretch to thirteen or fourteen hours? How could the sky be anything other than blue? How could hosepipe bans not be in force?! How could you be doing anything other than growing?
Of course the reality is that seasons change. Days shorten, skies cloud, water’s aplenty, and eventually the growing season ‘exits stage left.’ It’s also important to remember that our hypothetical, outdoor- orientated ‘growers summer’ excludes those who don’t have outdoor space in which to cultivate. Many of whom are younger generations who should, by rights, be the next wave of veg growers.
One solution to both the end of the growing season and lack of growing space is indoor or semi-indoor gardening. Surely that’s limited to certain types of plant you might think. Surely? Surely not. Potatoes, carrots, all manner of other root veg, as well as tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, greens, chillies, melons, and micro herbs are just a few of the proven possibilities for indoor growing. Diverse, year-round indoor allotment plots are now a definite reality.
Earlier in the year we at AutoPot HQ
set out yet again to demonstrate this fact using a number of our power-free, zero- waste watering systems. In just a few short months the impressive veg are piling up.
Lighting the way are Sweet Candle carrots grown in a Tray2Grow watering system using a 107.5 litre collapsible fabric planter. These were planted up in coco
growing media with two seeds per drill and thinned out once a plant had appeared
in each hole. Phenomenally vigorous in growth and promising an immense harvest, the carrots were raised on the Source fertiliser range, a new liquid feed designed specifically with AutoPot in mind. EC has been kept at around 1.5 with the flowering and PK components of the Source range not deemed necessary in this instance.
Such a Tray2Grow/planter-based set up has also proved a roaring success with our cucumbers and tomatoes. The former are a mini Thai variety, quick to harvest and ideally sized for freshness in the kitchen.
In retrospect we think we could have had as many as ten cucumber plants within the planter but we’ll know better for next time. The vines of the cucumbers run up vertical, ceiling-tethered strings and exhibit internodal spacing and fruit formation which are really something to behold. As are the branches of our tomato plants.
Our San Marino plum tomatoes have developed finger-thick vines, so robust and weighty that we’ve decided to adapt our approach to training. Using ceiling tethered strings running diagonally upwards we’ve taken two heads off each plant to create
a V shaped arrangement. This has the advantage of dividing the considerable weight of the burgeoning plants and making the fruits more accessible.
If planters aren’t for you then fear not, there’s at least five ways to grow with Tray2Grow. Pots, seed trays, micro herbs and grow bags can also be irrigated in
the tray, all of which you can see in action on our instagram page @autopot_global. Large container-based growing isn’t all we offer either. AutoPot pot-and-tray modules range from 8.5 L upwards and we’ve plenty
of handy devices for even smaller scale growing.
Staying with the mini-allotment theme, we’ve been proving the effectiveness of our systems with indoor-grown potatoes. Blue Belle, International Kidney, Arran Victory, and Caledonian Rose varieties raised in
50 litre XXL pot-and-tray modules are
now ready to harvest having been chitted and planted on the 3rd and 15th of March respectively.
The large fabric pots in the XXL modules have provided plenty of capacity and allowed oxygen to easily access the root zone. Having consulted with frequent collaborators Medwyn’s of Anglesey we’ve been regularly deflowering the plants
in order to focus their energies on tuber growth.
Along with year-round capability
and an opportunity to grow practically anywhere, our systems have a couple more advantages over in-earth cultivation. Self contained, low-mess, and easier to access than a plot, systems such as AutoPot offer everyday but important benefits to growers of all generations and abilities.
Unlike watering plants in plots, irrigating with AutoPot means 100% of your inputs go to the plants themselves. Nothing is lost to evaporation or to the earth making it an efficient, sustainable means of growing. The systems require no electricity, pumps, or running water to drive them either, liberating you to grow wherever you please and saving you a fortune on utilities.
Keen to save even more money with AutoPot? We’re offering NVS members 20% off our entire range when purchased via autopot.co.uk. Just use the promo code AUTONVS20 at the checkout
San Marino tomatoes in a collapsible planter - just one of five ways of growing with Tray2Grow
Indoor growing made easy - Sweet Candle carrots in a Tray2Grow System after just two months growth