Plant root advice needed please

[minibobkin]

Hi, at the mo i'm growing broccoli (green calabrese), sprouts (brussels), cauliflower (candid charm), cabbage (spring stonehead), swede (marian), shallots (golden gourmet), cucumber (marketmore), beetroot (boltardy), tomatoes (moneymaker) , lettuce (iceberg), spinach (medania) , parsnip (white spear) , radish (cherry belle) and carrots (nantes),(these are only between 1 week and 6 weeks old so still in early stages. I've been reading up to see how big these grow so i can plan where to plant them and i've managed to find some info on height and width of plants ect but i can find anything about root depth of any of these, i just wondered if anyone has a link or can offer some advice please, thankyou.

[Bigmallly]

There was a discussion a couple of weeks ago regarding root depth. Is there a reason for asking?

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...pth_65034.html

[alldigging]

Just look up how far apart they should be planted.

From memory cabbagey type roots don't go more than 30cm wide -

[veggiechicken]

Think about the root vegetables on your list first. Then imagine a carrot, coming out of the ground - how deep is it - then add a bit for the roots at the end of the carrot. Give all your deepest soil over to the root veg as they need to grow unhindered by stones and tree roots. Brassica roots will find their own way around these.

[minibobkin]

Hi bigmally im growing in pots and needed to know what depth i needed in them to make sure there is room for the veg and the roots, then basically i have some quite shallow but wide pots so i was wonderering what could fit in them and basically planning ahead to see what sizes i need.

Im new to growing this year so basically trying to gather as much info i can to help me with it.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Do you mean PSB or calabrese as this will amke a big difference.

I grow as follows

Cauliflower, cumbers and toms 1 per black flower bucket.

Lettuce, beetroot, shallots any container 6" deep.

Carrots dependent on variety any container 10"/12" deep.

Raddish any container 5" deep for french breakfast, globe types you can get away with slightly shallower.

Spring cabbage 10 to the sq metre 8" deep.

Colin

[minibobkin]

I have 2 shallow but wide pots one is 6" deep x 15" wide and round the other is 7" deep x 16" wide and also round, how many radish would you grow in there? the variety are cherry belle.Thankyou.

[veggiechicken]

It will tell you the spacing on the seed packet. Radish are so small the distance apart isn't critical. Just space them out as best you can according to the seed packet instructions.

[minibobkin]

Thanks for your reply colin, i have added all varieties so if you could help with sizes now that would be great, Thankyou.

[minibobkin]

Thanks veggiechicken i will have a go fingers crossed. Spacing says 15cm so i think im going to have a go at 5 per pot.

[veggiechicken]

Its the best way to find out minibobkin! You can try staggering the spacing too , they don't have to be in rows. 15cm is a lot, are you sure its doesn't say 15mm or about 1/2". Again, think of the size of a radish, maybe 1/2" -1" in diameter. You can see that they can be a lot closer together than 15cms /6" apart.
Radishes grow very quickly too, so you might want to plant one pot now and the other pot in a weeks time so that they're not already at once.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I use cut off black buckets for my radish and average 35 per bucket. If your pot is round start 1" in from the outside edge and place 1 seed every inch in a circle. Move in 1 1/2" and make another circle, then just carry on until you reach the middle of the pot.

Colin

[minibobkin]

thanks for the advice i have 7 radishes growing in small pots at mo so i will move them into 1 pot then try the idea of seeds an inch apart in the other one.

[veggiechicken]

It would be better to leave the ones that are growing now in their pots and sow more in another pot. Root crops, like radish are best left undisturbed.