Starting seeds in paper pots...which soil?

[tumbling tom]

Ok after more reading (my brain is gonna explode!) I have decided to start my carrots, snips and onions in paper pots in the next couple of weeks (mainly cos my beds arent gonna be ready for a while).


Now I just wanted a quick bit of advice as far as what type of soil/compost to use in these. I have read that snips and carrots dont like rich soil as they tend to fork. Would you just be able to fill to fill the pots with some growbag stuff or mpc?

Advice would be appreciated guys.

[zazen999]

If your beds aren't going to be ready for a while, I'd hold off....the parsnips and carrots will need to be transplanted before the tap root hits the bottom of the pot, and the paper will go mouldy if left too long.

[tumbling tom]

I will time it accordingly, wasnt just gonna leave them for weeks, lol, but thanks for the heads up.

[rana]

Unless you can garauntee the carrots etc will be transplanted without disturbance i wouldn't bother. Wait for the soil to warm and sow direct. Transplanted carrots do not perform well.

[Florence Fennel]

Sorry Tom, I'm with Rana here, I wouldn't sow parsnips and carrots into any pots, they don't like being transplanted, so I sow them where they are to grow. Hope it works for you if you decide to go ahead.

[Two_Sheds]

They're right - the roots will be out the bottom before you know it. But, to satisfy your itch, try a few... hold off the main lot until April though

[tumbling tom]

well i was hoping to put the.paper pot directly in the ground, hence no root disturbance, hopefully.

Still wondering what type of soil to put in them though.

[oldie]

Any seed, potting or mpc compost. I find mpc is fine. I use a certain brand recommended by two_sheds

[j r hilton]

I started carrots off in paper rolls last year and planted the whole lot into the ground later on. This way the roots were not disturbed and I got an excellent crop. Its worth a try.

[Two_Sheds]

well i was hoping to put the.paper pot directly in the ground, hence no root disturbance

It's not root disturbance that happens as such - carrots are a tap root and once that tap root hits something (a stone, or the bottom of a pot) it bends and won't grow straight anymore.

You can end up with carrots looking like hands or bunches of bananas

mpc is fine. I use a certain brand recommended by two_sheds

That'll be New Horizon Peat Free then. As sponsored by me

[tumbling tom]

was rather hoping to have had em in the ground by the time they get to the bottom. maybe i could cut the bottom off when i put them in the ground.

[Pompeylottie]

I've had a good crop of parsnips for the last two years by sowing parsnip seeds in paper pots and putting the whole lot in the ground very soon after the leaves appear. I wouldn't do it with carrots though.

[Bren In Pots]

I've had a good crop of parsnips for the last two years by sowing parsnip seeds in paper pots and putting the whole lot in the ground very soon after the leaves appear.

That's what I do when I sow my parsnips in loo rolls.

[Kristen]

I grow Parsnips in newspaper pots. I make the pots 6" to 7" tall. I chit the seed on damp kitchen paper and "plant out" into the pots as soon as the root appears.

The whole process, from germination to planting out, is about three weeks. Make sure you start hardening off after 7 - 10 days. As soon as the first true leaf appears they need to be planted out (or the tap root will get too long). If you have any where the tap root is evident plant them at the end of the row, then you'll know whether they were more prone to "fork" or not

I use left over multi-purpose compost from things I grew last year - Potatoes in bags, for example.

I make a planting hole with a bulb planter, and back-fill with fine soil (sifted would be good, I just run it through my hands to remove stones)

Yes is a lot of faff. But ... I only grow 50 Parsnips a year, they grow with no gaps, and no competition from weeds, and on my heavy clay the chance of me getting the soil to a good seedbed (even holes prepared for station-sowing) at a time when I have free time is slim (plus I can sow them for newspaper pots in the dark, on an evening exactly when I want to start them off and have time. 3 weeks later, when the plant-out date comes round, the ground is warmer and usually drier

If you sow several seeds direct in the pots then make sure you check for thinnings later in the season. The first time I did that I thinned them when I planted them and some more germinated later and grew wrapped around each other!

I did carrots in newspaper pots once. Too much trouble for such a light crop. I grow mine in 12" pots - 50:50 last years multi-purpose compost and sharp horticultural sand