Excellent growth with Kekkilä Starter 1 in Italy

In southern Italy the most used Kekkilä Professional products for vegetable seedlings are C1 and DSM 1 with relatively low starter fertiliser, Kekkilä Starter 1 content of 600 grams per cubic meter. Due to this low level the stretching of the cotyledons is less compared to a high content of starter fertiliser.

Kekkilä Starter 1 (KS1) works for a wide range of plants grown in different pH conditions. It is used in more than 90% of our substrates. The starter has a unique composition compared to traditional starter fertilisers used in peat substrates all over the world. In KS1, iron, manganese, zinc and copper are added in EDTA chelated form. Because of that they remain soluble and available for plants at higher pH levels as well.

In areas with hard water, where the pH-level in the substrate is quickly going up, the Kekkilä Starter fertilisers with chelated microelements are very beneficial. In Kekkilä substrates the microelements are still available for the seedlings even at a higher pH-level, whereas in the traditional sulphate formulations the microelements will be bound by the substrate. This means they are of no use to the plants.

What Italian Young Plant grower Cosimo thinks

Italian grower Mr Cosimo is very satisfied with the growing results of Kekkilä Professional seedling substrate DSM 1 W R0630. His customers are happy as well, as they can see a positive change in the aubergine young plants transplanted onto fields.

Vivai Oliva Cosimo is a Vegetable Young Plant and Herb growing nursery in the very South of the Italian peninsula. The company is producing high quality young plants of melons, water melons, peppers, aubergine, cauliflower and fennel. They are, among other things, grown in polystyrene trays. Apart from the vegetable young plants they are also growing herbs like basil, parsley and dill. Kekkilä DSM 1 W R0630 is used in all of their seedling production.

During our visit to Vivai Oliva Cosimo one of Mr. Cosimos long-time customers arrived to buy young plants. The aubergine grower told us that his quality of aubergine plants in the field had improved as well due to Mr. Cosimo’s choice to  change to Kekkilä Professional growing media.

The young aubergine plants nowadays have better and stronger root systems as a result of this switch. The plants are less stressed and more homogeneous. At the time of delivery, the plants have better vitality and are readily established in the field. They quickly form side branches after transplanting. All of these factors maximize the yield and quality of the harvest.

As illustrtated above, a reliable substrate is not only important for the grower of young plants, but certainly for the end vegetable grower as well.

Grow with confidence.

Click here to read more about our starter fertilisers.