leeks and parsnips

[Sheryl Mc]

whens the best time to start growing leeks and parsnips ? can i start them off in pots then transplant out at a later date and whens the best time ? help much needed!!

[hawthorns]

yes to both. i have a pot with approx 30 leek seeds growing. you let them grow until they are pencil thick then transplant them out. as for parsnips i use old loo rolls to sow into then when thay are established plant the whole thing into the ground. other will advise on what you can do with both these types of veg but thats what im doing. good luck

[Sheryl Mc]

thanks but

how do i stop mould growing on the loo rolls? its grown on the ones i've used for my toms what should i do ?

[hawthorns]

i have it on mine it looks grim but it does no real damage. try and be really carefull when watering and do it very slowly the loo rolls will breakdown when in the ground. other members have suggested putting the loo rolls in the microwave and this is supposed to stop the mould i have not tried this yet but i will

[Sheryl Mc]

thanks i thought it might spread to the plants

[pukka.tukka]

Hi

I have sown my parsnips but not my leeks. I will be growing both in loo rolls this year along with sweet peas and runner beans.

[Snadger]

Cheshunt Compound is a fungiscide applied to seedlings to stop them 'damping off' it may possibly kill the mould as well!

[Flummery]

I microwaved half the loo rolls I used this morning. Scientific experiment!

[denise]

Hi
I have last years leeks growing in a pot still (hangs head in shame), if I plant them out will they row up into big leeks which I can harvest early? I plan to get some more started from seed anyway. What do you reckon?

[allotmentlady]

just sowing leeks this afternoon, i sprinkled seeds all over the top of the compost and now shall wait lol.........leeks are my favourite vegetable along with swede, carrots etc etc

[maxie]

i have some leeks from last year that i was given. why do you put them in loo rolls? pete

[Paulottie]

Don't bother with loo rolls, in my opinion, they are horrid and mouldy, it is difficult to regulate the water, stand them up without packing them into ice-cream tubs (with poor air circulation) and I disagree that they break down in the ground with ease, They can be used for parsnips- but for me it is too much hassle and compost. You can chit parsnip seed on kitchen towel and then plant out very soon with tweezers or even by mixing them up in wall paper paste and piping them with icing bag into your drill. or use root trainers or peat pots if you want the Rolls Royce option. I just sow direct mostly unless i'mn going for showbench examples.

I have also used loo rolls for sweetcorn before, mixed results and rot, but then I have that many 3" pots and combined with a bulb planter I find there is little root disturbance.

Regarding leeks- they don't resent root disturbance anyhow, infact many growers cut off the roots and trim leaves to facilitate dibbing in later on. Just sow them in a pots or seedbed then split em up at planting

Can't see the point for tomatoes either, A few seeds in a seed tray or pot is fine. Important to be brutal with toms and chuck out the weaklings. Each time you prick out or pot on bury them deep- to the first set of leaves- they love it and throw roots from the stem a good root system is all important to produce good fruit.

PS. Flum would still be interested how the tubes you put in the devil's tumble dryer faired compared to others

[veg4681]

There seems to be some confusion here. Loo rolls are only for parsnips, not leeks.

The easiest method with leeks I've learnt from this forum is to sow the 30-40 seeds in a pot size of 6"-7" diameter anywhere between late February to mid April depending whether you want Autumn and Winter harvest. Mine took only 7 days to germinate on the window sill, don't even need to cover the pot with polythene. The beauty about this method is that you don't need to transplant (as the pot is deep enough) until they are ready for planting out in their final bed. They are ready for planting out when they're pencil thick, possibly May onwards.

As for parsnips, they're slow to germinate and can be somewhat frustrating so I myself have resorted to pre-germinating method of wrapping the seeds in damp kitchen roll placed inside a sealed plastic bag. This can take anywhere between 7-14 days (depending on freshness of seeds) before you notice the seeds sprouting...when they're ready for planting in loo rolls because parsnips don't like their roots disturbed (could become deformed if disturbed???). When you're ready to plant in their final bed, the loo rolls go into the soil too which should break down.

Please feel free to read past thread using the search facility, you'll find lots of discussions on leeks and parsnips.

[maxie]

thanks paul, sounds like good advice. pete

[veg4681]

Don't bother with loo rolls, in my opinion, they are horrid and mouldy, it is difficult to regulate the water, stand them up without packing them into ice-cream tubs (with poor air circulation) and I disagree that they break down in the ground with ease, They can be used for parsnips- but for me it is too much hassle and compost. You can chit parsnip seed on kitchen towel and then plant out very soon with tweezers or even by mixing them up in wall paper paste and piping them with icing bag into your drill. or use root trainers or peat pots if you want the Rolls Royce option. I just sow direct mostly unless I'm going for showbench examples.

I'm panicking that I haven't got enough loo rolls and besides I have heard of the horrid mouldy problem. I'm running out of 3" pots but couldn't I use plastic drink cups to plant one pre-germinated parsnip seeds per cup? Transplant carefully with the whole soil from the cup without disturbing the roots, how difficult can that be that loo rolls are the only option?