Grow A Bounty – Multi-Crop Single System Cultivation With GreenPlanet & AutoPot

Engarde! Demanding the satisfaction only an AutoPot trial can yield, GreenPlanet Nutrients challenged us to a Dual Fuel test a few months back. We gladly picked up the gauntlet. The proposition? Could we possibly grow a melange of delicious crops right off a single reservoir running their signature two-part feed? Sure we could. But wouldn’t feeding all pots the same sauce from the same source banjax the growth of individual plants?

You can check out the exact results in the first of our Nutrient Test Grow videos here but suffice to say our Sungold Cherry Tomatoes, F1 Cucumbers, Rock Melon, Little Darling Watermelon, and Sweet Peppers are thoroughly enjoying this deliciously straight-forward arrangement. Just goes to show that a whole garden’s worth of fruits is possible indoors, in minimal space, and even within the same system. We’ll be honest though, we know that the very cleanness and simplicity of such set-up can put some people off. 

There is a school of thought that says “hey guys! It’s too simple to work”. We know there are those who find complexity in systems, substrates, lighting, tents, or nutrients reassuring. As if features are the passport to success. What we’d say to that is; simple things take at least as much inspiration, expertise, and testing to perfect as their complicated counterparts – AKA. it’s simple because it’s been made simple.

With a simple, reliable set-up such as this, all that’s really required is the right balance of pH and EC, suitable for substrate and set to satisfy the whole range of plants under cultivation. Our test involves a couple of delightful Light Mixes – one from Biobizz and one from Dutchpro so pH 5.8 is about spot on. We’ve got EC to 2.1-2.5 given the varieties growing. 

Achieving a reservoir equilibrium that caters for all the different plants in one system can require a little time and concentration. Free time is exactly what AutoPots give you. Each plant controls its own feeding individually through its own AQUAvalve its own individual module. There’s no need for pumps or computers that would require calibration for, or against, plant types. There’s no recirculation so there’s no nasty, unknown quantities interloping between the pots. 

If you’re taking on multiple plant types in one system you certainly do not want the kind of nutrient that makes your life more difficult by dropping stacks of salts, sediments, or producing abundant biofilm. Dirty feeds that do so can cause blockages, increase maintenance, and baffle the nutrient regime. Happily, Dual Fuel ticks more boxes than a clockmaker in the clean feed stakes. It is a prime example of an AutoPot-optimised nutrient. And there’s more where that came from.

GreenPlanet have come up with a new line of AutoPot-optimised nutrient Starter Kits. Prepare to be thunderstruck by the absolutely spanking AP-GP liveried boxes in which you the happy grower can find either the 2-Part Dual Fuel combo, as used here, or a 3-Part set ft. the renowned GP3 feed.

We’re not the only ones to wax about GreenPlanet. It was Plantasia who turned us on (to the nutrient) after seeing the splendid results they achieved in their polytunnels last year. Huge thanks to Ben and the team there for their inspiration and assistance, to Easy Grow UK who very generously supplied the nutrients to test, and to GreenPlanet for such dedication in producing a feed that really knocks out of the park with AutoPot. Having been inundated by a diverse, exciting, and innovative range of feeds in recent months we’ll have more Nutrient Test Grow videos coming soon – we look forward to sharing. Ciao for now.