brassicas and loo rolls

[lottie dolly]

has anyone tried starting brassica seeds of in loo rolls,especially couliflowers,as i understand they not like root disturbance,and the rolls should give a longer root space,I wondered if they would have enough room widthways,i am aware that all brassicas have to be well firmed in the ground,thanks people

[sarraceniac]

I've done it with a few things including broad beans lottie, but never tried it with brassicas. Can't see it doing any harm though. Don't forget that when you plant them out and just shove the whole of the loo tube into the bed that it quickly rots away and the roots come through the wet cardboard anyway.

[allotmentlady]

LOL u should see our collection of empty loo rolls awaiting to be used for sowing, I use them every year, even on my cauliflowers. Tip, dampen your soil a little before putting into loo roll, otherwise you have it coming out everywhere!

136 empty loo rolls and counting, this is since last July! (hmmm thats is a lot isnt it?)

[Cutecumber]

Brassicas don't care much about their roots being disturbed - and this isn't just my own experience. Traditionally, and it still goes on, you would sow into a nursery bed and uproot the young plants to their final position later.

I wouldn't bother with loo roll inners for brassicas, it's easier to use plastic modules. Save them for things with long roots instead.

[lottie dolly]

thank all for the advice,
sarraceniac,is always best to bury the the cardboard or it will syphone the moisture from the soil,and things like brassicas are best buried up to the first leaves anyway.
allotmentlady,136 not really a lot,last year i had the family collecting them as well,it's suprising how many many loo rolls kids get through lol.
cutecumber,last year i did them in moduals,but just had a mad idea about loo rolls,sounds a lot easier as your idea of just putting the seeds into a nursery bed.
thank you very muchly all,think i will try both ways.

[Winged one]

I had forgotten to start sdaving the loo rolls again (OH doesn't like too much "clutter") so I must start that again for the peas and beans. Not a bad idea for brassicas either.

What would people think about them for sweetcorn? It doesn't do well direct on the plot for us.


For things that aren't TOO fussy about root movement (and I did it with my beans and peas last year), I use old takeaway coffee cups, especially the venti size (huge). By the time they are ready for planting out, the cardboard is usually easy to split apart along the seam and lots less disturbance than an ordinary pot, as well as being lovely and long. I have about 10 of those ready to start off in a few weeks for the early peas.

[pigletwillie]

I transplant all of my brassicas into 4" pots and transfer direct from them with no issues what so ever. I do like wise with my sweetcorn too.

Last year I used dunny rolls for the first time and they were just a hastle compared to pots with nothing in the resulting crops to suggest they were any better than pots. I dont even use them fro parsnips, I now just pregerminate on a plate and sow 3 of the pre germinated seeds per planting station.

[coreopsis]

Tip, dampen your soil a little before putting into loo roll, otherwise you have it coming out everywhere!

136 empty loo rolls and counting, this is since last July! (hmmm thats is a lot isnt it?)

Wish I knew that earlier...
Last year I kept all the loo rolls and kitchen towel's as well.When it came to filling them with soil I just lost my patience as compost was everywhere.

[oldie]

I tried cabbage and cauliflower in loo rolls last year and none survived. I was then told by three other people that they just do not like loo rolls. Sweet corn and beans were fine but its no to cabbages and cauliflower.

[lottie dolly]

thank you pigletwillie for your experienced advice,i like your parsnip idea,sounds like a lot les phaffing around,i presume if all 3 take of,you pull 2 out,per station,do i recall from last year,you also made a hole,then filled with compost ?,thus creating the effect of being in a pot,so as not to desturb the root.
thank you oldie,will definatly forget the loo roll idea.

[Paulottie]

I think loo rolls are inconvenient and go mouldy easily....and someone wrote on the subject of ringworm a year or two ago...yuk!

I think a bulb planter works great for a small pot...one tap...no root disturbance! ...jobs a goodun.

For brassicas I make a shallow trench(as for peas) before setting out. useful to flood the trench in the early days and then to fill in later for firmness..avoiding the wind-rock that breaks the feeding roots.

[nicnac]

This may sound like a stupid question to you professionals, but why use loo rolls?

Cheers
Nicnac

[Cutecumber]

The theory is to give some long-rooted, quick growing plants more depth before you plant them out - like peas, beans and sweetcorn. They can help with parsnips too if you are careful. You don't have to disturb the seedling when you plant it, you just make a hole big enough for the tube and put the whole thing in. The cardboard degrades in the soil.

Loo rolls are used because they are basically free and have more depth than most shop-bought modules. You can buy proprietary paper tubes that do the same thing of course, but they don't stand upright so well as a loo roll tube or you can buy deep "rootrainers" - though these have a slightly different purpose.

The trouble with loo rolls is that:
they get mouldy and slimey very quickly when kept damp;
they can be tricky to plant if the seedling is quite delicate;
they are tall and inherently rather unstable - you need a good flat tray to sit them in which is not going to get knocked.

Personally, I think they can be useful for peas, beans and sweetcorn, but for smaller seedlings they are waste of compost.

[kate&rob]

i use loo rolls for my sweetcorn, good results every time. don't think i'll bother for brassicas though.