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| The sickly crew |
Much as I hate reporting failures, I feel obliged to record the abysmal failure of my tomatoes and cucumbers this year. Yellow, at best, to purple leaves, lack of growth, prone to attack by pests or simply rotting: it has been an abject failure. I tried several new tomato varieties, but also my failsafe Sungold, so I know it is not my growing methods. The culprit has to be the peat free compost. New Horizon Vegetable Compost by the normally reliable Westland. I had noted that New Horizon "All Plant Compost" claims to have "No Green Waste" but on closer examination the Vegetable Compost misses this phrase out from the blurb. It does claim to be suitable for growing tomatoes. Both products have a real stink about them even before you break open the bag, reminiscent of pig slurry. I now have a dilemma: Do I try to isolate and dispose of these products or let the contaminants dissipate/dilute on the allotment, once in contact with real soil? It may be only by association but I went down with food poisoning for two weeks after working with this material intensively. In the small print they do advise you to wear gloves when handling - advice I now take very seriously!
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| Cucumber - giving up the ghost (There were 3) |
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| Sungold - Single fruit on a spindly plant. |
Oh, Mal, this is awful -- not being able to trust what you buy not too make you and the plants sick! (Well, not being able to trust alone is pretty stressful.)
ReplyDeleteI want to separate out the problems and remember this is our experience only.
My son's experience with the purple veined tomatoes -- We read on the internet (Do trust and the internet go together?) that purple veins in tomatoes were the result of phosphorus deficiency. This was caused by transplanting them too early since the roots weren't able to use the phosphorus in the soil. So we planted them later on the back porch keeping the small pots warmer.
Giving up the ghost and small size (dwarfed)in particular is the result of the wholesaler using a growth retardant hormone to keep the plants on the nursery benches from sprawling and looking ugly. The growth retardant makes them look pretty on the benches, but they never grow big or produce much. I think this should be illegal. I got caught with this year after buying transplants online.
Thirdly, I think you are absolutely correct about the compost giving you food poisoning. It shouldn't smell so bad. I'm so glad you recovered and hope all is well now.
Thank you Jane. As I raise my tomatoes from seed I am fairly sure that it is the peat free compost that is the problem. I recall the advice that adding too much fresh sawdust and wood chippings effectively robs the plants of nitrogen and other nutrients. I really hope the over dependence on wood products in the absence of peat is what hade caused this as in the long term wood breaks down and benefits plants. The worry is that "Green Waste" collected by council's has been used. The weedkiller used to keep domestic grass lawns weed free is not broken down by the composting process, and grass cuttings SHOULD not be disposed of in municipal collections, but often is.
DeleteFinally it is noteworthy that in Australia, where they do not have a ready source of peat they rely on woody waste more and also have an increased incidence of reported infections arising from potting compost.
Thank you. I learned so much more from this. There are so many different ways to garden. Peat is not preferred here because it dries out too fast and can't be remoistened and is very expensive. Thank you for taking the time to explain it all to me. Coconut coir is a common substitute here. It certainly sounds like the compost is the problem, not the plants.
DeleteIt’s rather worrying that they recommend wearing gloves. Have you emailed the manufacturer and the supplier. The quality of peat free compost is scandalous. I would keep it well away from your allotment.
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame you have had this problem. I love your blog and find it incredibly helpful as someone who is gardening in Edinburgh too. For the past two years I have used the peat-free products from Caledonian Horticulture and have had great results. Their prices work out quite reasonable if you are able to buy in bulk, and I like being able to buy locally. This year I have also used a mycorrhizal innoculation when sowing tomatoes and chillies, and it certainly seems to have given the plants a headstart. Reading up on the research it seems to particularly help phosphorus uptake. I had my first ripe tomato on the 12th June!!!
ReplyDeleteBTW I have saved some seeds from my Scotland Yellow tomatoes. It's an old Edinburgh variety which seems to have unjustifiably fallen out of fashion. It's very productive and tasty. I am trying to spread the seeds to as many people locally as possible. Let me know if you would like some.
Thanks for your comment Guy, and your recommendations. 12 June? Impressive! After my knock back I will be happy to grow any variety of tomato successfully next year!
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