{"id":2150,"date":"2023-08-22T14:55:07","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T14:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/?p=2150"},"modified":"2023-08-22T14:55:08","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T14:55:08","slug":"allotment-going-on-with-autopot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/2023\/08\/22\/allotment-going-on-with-autopot\/","title":{"rendered":"Allotment Going On \u2013 With AutoPot"},"content":{"rendered":"

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?<\/p>

\"\"
Above: The promised land of summer. Glorious days in the sun and allotments fit to burst \u2013 but alas it cannot last \u2013 pic courtesy of Jurassic Hydroponics<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Of course the reality is that seasons change. Days shorten, skies cloud, water\u2019s aplenty, and eventually the growing season \u2018exits stage left\u2019. It\u2019s also important to remember that our hypothetical, outdoor-orientated \u2018growers summer\u2019 excludes those who don\u2019t have outdoor space in which to cultivate. Many of whom are younger generations who should, by rights, be the next wave of veg growers. <\/p>

\"Keeping
Above: Keeping the dream alive, Tray2Grow in growbag configuration with Thai cucumbers at AutoPot HQ<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

One solution to both the end of the growing season and a lack of growing space is indoor or semi-indoor gardening. Surely that\u2019s 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.<\/p>

Earlier in the year we at AutoPot HQ<\/a> 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. <\/p>

\"\"
Above: Sweet Candle Carrots growing indoors using Tray2Grow and a Tray2Grow fabric planter \u2013 fed with Source fertilisers<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Lighting the way are Sweet Candle carrots<\/a> grown in a Tray2Grow watering system using a 107.5 litre collapsible fabric planter<\/a>. 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>, 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.<\/p>

Such a Tray2Grow<\/a>\/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\u2019ll 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. <\/p>

\"Light
Above: Light of our lives \u2013 the Sweet Candles have blazed to a full grown size in just a few short months<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Our San Marino plum tomatoes<\/a> have developed finger-thick vines, so robust and weighty that we\u2019ve decided to adapt our approach to training. Using ceiling tethered strings running diagonally upwards we\u2019ve 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.<\/p>

If planters aren\u2019t for you then fear not, there\u2019s 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<\/a>. Large container-based growing isn\u2019t all we offer either. AutoPot pot-and-tray modules range from 8.5 L upwards<\/a> and we\u2019ve plenty of handy devices for even smaller scale growing.<\/p>

\"Both
Above: Both the tomatoes in the Tray2Grow Planter and those in growbag configuration have had their vines trained to a V-shape, distributing the sheer weight and improving accessibility<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Staying with the mini-allotment theme, we\u2019ve 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<\/a> are now ready to harvest having been chitted and planted on the 3rd and 15th of March respectively. <\/p>

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\u2019s of Anglesey<\/a> we\u2019ve been regularly deflowering the plants in order to focus their energies on tuber growth.<\/p>

\"\"
Above: Spuds you\u2019ll like! Potatoes going great guns in XXL modules<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

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. <\/p>

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. <\/p>

If you\u2019re garden focussed and just want to explore our range of easy-to-use, flexible, efficient watering solutions why not visit the brand new dedicated AutoPot Garden Site<\/a>, live now! <\/p>

<\/a><\/p>

<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-autopot-news-july-2023"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/08\/Allotment_Main.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2150"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2150"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2152,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2150\/revisions\/2152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autopot.co.uk\/garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}