Root trainers

[ukmaggie45]

That super picture of shallots in root trainers encouraged me to put mine in some. I'd really bought them for sweet peas! So thank you zazen. Got some red onions in Wilkinsons's yesterday, so I think I'll put the biggest fattest ones in trainers too. Plus I've got some other onions in a cardboard box in the garage - it was too snowy and frosty to plant when they arrived.

I've got the trainers on the window sill of the morning room (only room in the house that is unheated - we're still trying to dry out the damp in the new house), is it too soon to put them out in a cold frame? I guess if a heavy frost was forecast we could cover them with some fleece? Sorry if these seem silly questions, I've never grown onions and shallots before, so don't really know how well the sets will stand up to cold.

[sarraceniac]

Onions will take a lot of cold Maggie. In common with most plants they don't like frost very much but even a light short frost won't hurt. But if they are protected by a cold frame, the frost won't get to them anyway so you should be 99% safe. which is pretty good in gardening terms.

[Incy]

Bit miffed really. I order 5" root trainers ( 32 cells) off Amazon. Told OH and he only turns round and says ' Is that enough? why didn't you get more?' and there I was being good. Doh!

[Scottishnewbie]

does anyone use root trainers for brassicas?

or any types of plants?

[Alison]

I don't see much point in using root trainers for brassicas, they'd work fine but there's no need as they don't have the deep roots of beans and don't mine having their roots disturbed a bit.

[marathon]

does anyone use root trainers for brassicas?

or any types of plants?

I do, I perhaps use them more because it space saving than anything else, I can fit hundreds of them on a small section of staging in my polytunnel.

I have to say that I find them easier to transplant from a root trainer than a plug or pot so for me that's a bonus

[mogs]

Planted out my Broad Beans sown in the rootrainers I got for Christmas this weekend - my Dad and I stood back in complete awe at the strong, long and healthy roots and Bodybuilderesque plants. I've always used toilet roll inners, but they've never looked that good. Went into Wilkies today to buy two more packs for my Runners and French beans and will be reusing the originals for my sweetcorn definitely - awesome invention.

[smallblueplanet]

...my Dad and I stood back in complete awe at the strong, long and healthy roots and Bodybuilderesque plants. I've always used toilet roll inners, but they've never looked that good.

Lol! Snap! We planted our broadies out from their rootrainers today too.

[King Carrot]

Has anyone started sweetcorn in these -if so how long do you leave it in the root trainer before planting and with what results?

I usually use kitchen roll tubes and as herself has been using them cut in half for sweetpeas I've run out - not that we had many anyway as we forgot to collect empty rolls over winter as we usually do. So I'm looking for an alternative and I was thinking of the 12cm root trainers as I can't find any longer ones.

[zazen999]

KC - yes, you can put sweetcorn into RTs. They can stay in there for a fair while; I've had sweetcorn's in RT and modules until they were a good 18 inches tall before they went into the ground, esp when I had grown them for someone else or bought seedlings and transplanted them into RTs for the duration.

[King Carrot]

KC - yes, you can put sweetcorn into RTs. They can stay in there for a fair while; I've had sweetcorn's in RT and modules until they were a good 18 inches tall before they went into the ground, esp when I had grown them for someone else or bought seedlings and transplanted them into RTs for the duration.

nice one - you really should have bought a job lot

[Alison]

Just checked my spreadsheet and it seems that my sweetcorn was in it's root trainers for about 6 weeks from mid April to early June before being planted out.

[Glutton4...]

Just checked my spreadsheet and it seems that my sweetcorn was in it's root trainers for about 6 weeks from mid April to early June before being planted out.

Now't wrong with Spreadsheets!

[Alison]

Now't wrong with Spreadsheets!

Indeed although am a bit dubious about one of my bosses who thinks he can manage an entire department via a spreadsheet rather than talk to any of us!

[King Carrot]

Just checked my spreadsheet and it seems that my sweetcorn was in it's root trainers for about 6 weeks from mid April to early June before being planted out.

Thanks, thats good to know for when the root trainers I just bought are used to start my sweetcorn in a couple of weeks. It looks like I'll be starting beans and herself, sweetpeas in them as well, as I've bought 6 x used ones from ebay -192 cells.

I think there's a link further up this thread if anyone else wants some although there's already less available than there was yesterday, thanks to this thread I reckon!