We wanted to find the best mixes for particular types of vegetables and also the best “all-purpose” mixes.
We tested the mixes on vegetables with a variety of needs. Leafy crops such as lettuce need plenty of nitrogen, but root crops like radishes (and carrots) shouldn’t have too much nitrogen or the tops will flourish at the expense of root growth. Tomatoes are just overall greedy feeders.
Best for a range of vegetables
The mixes that produced the best results over a range of vegetables were:
- Yates General Purpose Potting Mix (North Island version)
- Daltons Big Value Potting Mix (South Island version)
- Living Earth Potting Mix
- Kiwi Potting Mix.
Just Potting Mix was one of the best for growing lettuces and radishes. But it didn’t do so well for tomatoes, which have a longer growing period.
Just and Kiwi are sold at The Warehouse. Daltons Big Value is exclusive to Bunnings. Yates is available in garden centres and hardware stores, and Living Earth at centres in the upper North Island.
Best for specific vegetables
The lab sowed radish seed and potted up lettuce and tomato seedlings then raised them in a heated glasshouse.
- Radishes: The radish seed germinated well in all mixes. The plants were thinned and the average size was compared between potting mixes halfway through the trial and at the end. Finally the plants were harvested and the edible portion weighed.
The best potting mixes for raising radishes were Kiwi, Just and Yates General Purpose (North Island version). - Lettuces: Size was compared halfway through the trial and at the end when the plants were harvested and weighed as well.
The largest lettuces were grown in Daltons Big Value (North and South Island versions), Just and Home Brand. - Tomatoes: The lab checked the plants’ height halfway through the trial and again at the end. It then rated the plants’ health and weighed them.
Living Earth, Daltons Big Value (South Island version), Results (South Island version) and Daltons (North Island) produced the best results.
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