Carrotts in empty toilet roll holders.

[simoncpg]

This may be of no help to anyone but I have b een growing half my crop of carrots in empty cardboard toilet roll holders. It has been very successfull, producing straight fat carrotts, the holders rot down so it gets rid of them as well.
Regards Simon.

[Two_Sheds]

Work well don't they?

[solway cropper]

I grow most of mine in flower buckets in a home-made mix of compost/sand and get much better results than in the ground. I think fewer people would be disheartened by wonky forked carrots if they adopted more unconventional ways of growing them.

[Croila]

Ah, what a good idea! I grew peas in toilet roll innards this year and they seem to have done okay. Recycling at its best :-)

[northepaul]

Carrots....what carrots?!?
Mine got eaten before they even grew! I like the idea of the toilet roll holders, but surely the tubes go mouldy after a bit?

[Shadylane]

You put them in the ground as soon as you have some decent leaf growth or as soon as they show if you don't have a slug problem. I did it last year with parsnips and am going to try carrots next year as we had sporadic germination for the later sown ones. A bit of mould won't hurt anyway.

[BeatTheSeasons]

I don't understand how this works. Do you start then off in pots and then transplant into the cardboard tubes after digging holes in the ground? Confused

[Bigmallly]

I don't understand how this works. Do you start then off in pots and then transplant into the cardboard tubes after digging holes in the ground? Confused

Use the loo roll inners as pots then once they have a bit of growth, plant the whole thing in your bed or container.

[BeatTheSeasons]

Ok so obviously if I'm using something as light and unstable as a cardboard tube for a pot then I have to sow them on a windowsill or in a greenhouse, not anywhere windy.

Another really simple question then.... if I use them as pots surely the soil is going to fall out the bottom? Or do you just wedge a load of toilet roll holders into a tray and then put the soil in afterwards? But won't half of it fall out when you transplant anyway?

[walldanzig]

When transplanting the just put your hand under the bottom then drop them in the ground

[Shadylane]

Ok so obviously if I'm using something as light and unstable as a cardboard tube for a pot then I have to sow them on a windowsill or in a greenhouse, not anywhere windy.

Another really simple question then.... if I use them as pots surely the soil is going to fall out the bottom? Or do you just wedge a load of toilet roll holders into a tray and then put the soil in afterwards? But won't half of it fall out when you transplant anyway?

I fill each one individually, pack tightly at the bottom end so it doesn't fall out then top up. (I used to put scrunched up newspaper in the bottom but packed that in after a while) I then stick them in a tray of some kind. I recycle old meat trays or those trays that fruit or mushrooms come in. Those round plastic things that popadoms come in are quite handy for that too.

I usually germinate them indoors then move them outside once leaf is showing. The parsnips last year (didn't do all this way as it was a bit tiresome but was first time growing them so thought I'd hedge my bets) were put out in the ground as soon as they were through but we don't have a major slug problem. I plan to do the same with carrots next year but if you want to give them a chance against the slugs you could wait until you've got some decent leaf growth.

[BeatTheSeasons]

Do you just use compost or a mixture of compost with sand - if so, in what proportions?

[nomis]

This all sounds very interesting.

Am I too late to give it a go now?

What about in the polyhouse, can it speed up carrots?

[Two_Sheds]

Too late to sow carrots now, try in the spring. MPC works, extra sand is not necessary

[BeatTheSeasons]

Too late to sow carrots now, try in the spring. MPC works, extra sand is not necessary

It says on my autumn kings that you can sow them until July. So maybe that means until August undercover? They are so cheap it can't hurt to try a few.