Halloween pumpkin grown with coffee

Paul Smithson

20/10/2011 09:46:59

A West Yorkshire school has found that coffee outshone horse manure as a fertiliser for growing pumpkins ahead of Halloween.

Batley & Birstall News revealed that the coffee-powered vegetable finished up with roots stretching 16 feet - much longer than another one grown in a more conventional manner.

Staff at the Batley Business and Enterprise College will no doubt be more accustomed to using coffee granules in an espresso machine than the vegetable patch, but there is no mistaking the benefit of spreading coffee around as a crop of grapes was similarly affected.

Ford Goodwin, internal verifier at the school, admitted he was not sure of the science behind the growth, saying: “I’d never have thought to plant seeds in coffee granules, but a member of staff mentioned it and we thought we’d give it a go.”

Commenting on the story, Roast.com noted that coffee grounds have been used for years in compost heaps, which mix well with garden waste to create effective fertiliser.

It questioned how big the school’s pumpkin actually grew - pointing out that the only details reported were the length of the vines - and suggested anyone keen to imitate their operation should make sure they plant the seeds early enough in the year, so that the vegetable has plenty of time to grow.