Planting in guttering

[bottomleypots]

Hi,
Bit like Johnboy but I freeze sweetcorn aswell as peas.
I used to blanche my peas however I couldnt get them drained well enough so they froze in a solid block. Difficult just to get a few at a time for stir fries etc.
The sweetcorn gets frozen within 20 mins of picking and is delicious all through the winter.

Its nice eating home frozen peas as you remember the hot sunny days podding the peas on the back doorstep during the cold dark winter. Itreminds you why its fantastic to have an allotment

[Johnboy]

Hi Mandylew,
I think that drilling holes is a mistake because it only takes one root per hole and you will never be able to slide them out successfully. However you could try poking the roots back into the guttering.
I feel that the vast majority of people will be using round guttering and not square. The drag on square guttering will be far greater than round.
JB.

[mandylew]

Hmm, too late now although they are tiny holes. round guttering wouldnt work so well in the tray either it would tip over i suspect, maybe this will not work so well after all. will report back in the future.

Mandy

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Mandy not all is lost using square guttering, as you can pull either side apart a little, this should help break the seal between compost and guttering.
With the square guttering having a bottom and two sides you can get more movment of the sides compared to half round, which you can get very little sidewards movement.

Time will tell.

[Mike Vogel]

Late into the conversation, as usual. I tried sowing in guttering for the first time this year and ity works for me. I have grown a short row of peas at home and put it into the allotment a few days ago, where they are doing well. I got far better germination because they weren't attacked by anything. Sliding out the 2 foot row was easy too, as after a month the roots had formed a sufficient bond for the compost to stick together.

However, I was less successful in sliding out 1-inch high lettuce and coriander plants. Their roots had obviously not formed a sufficiently strong mat under the compost, so the soil started to concertina when i pushed it. I salvaged the plants by sliding a spoon-like trowel underneath, which may have damaged some of the roots, but all are doing well now. The lesson: wait until the lettuces are 2 or 3 inches high before setting them into the soil. I like Johnboy's profile idea, which I'll use next time if I remember.

mike

[Franksmum]

Oooh I'm going on the lookout for skips now - I've already reused toilet roll tubes for putting seedlings in.

It grieves me to spend money on new and fancy looking pots when you can recycle other peoples unwanted stuff!!! (but my future husband is from Yorkshire so maybe that's why I'm getting more tight..)