Kitchen Garden Forum

hi,

can anyone recommend somewhere to buy roottrainers from please.

i have found only 1 of our local garden centres sells them, and the pods are v v flimsy and already broken on the open set for demo. sure there must be somewhere making more solid ones, that will last more than a season.

that is assuming they are worthwhile to start with, if you think not then please say.

secondly, i posted a message in nov / dec askign if garlic should be showing.

it is now (well 2 bulbs) as of weeekend.... unless something v similar has snook in.

thanks

Stu

hi stu ,i have seen root trainers in B+Q,but dont bother with them myself,try loo rolls,always worked for me.about the garlic,the other year i forgot to put in my garlic and it didnt go in until the end of feb.....it was the best i have grown yet!

Hi Stu

Like the Grock I use bog roll or kitchen roll inners. If you want something stronger try foil, clingfilm or greesproof paper inners. Garlic was planted end of October and shoots are about 3" high now.

I`ve got several sets of rootrainers in the frames that hold them and they have lasted for six years now, often being used twice per year. I bought them at a Potato Day though, so no idea of manufacturer.

Would I buy them again? Well, possibly not. They don`t fit that well into a propagator, if that`s what you want them for which I do. Bulky. Plus it`s a bit of a PIB to have different types of seeds in the same frame because sods law states that one variety will germinate and you want to get it out the heater area into the unheated propagator...but the frames need to be full. Etc. They`re not the be-all-and-end-all solution that they advertise but they do have their place. Great for sweetcorn, for example, but courgettes always tangle up.

Peat pots or toilet roll inners fulfil the same function. Or you can get formers to make pots out of newspaper, or...my recommended method...wrap newspaper round toilet roll innners, then tuck in the base so growing medium doesn`t fall out. You can make them taller this way.

Garlic? Mine`s not in yet. Feburary planting works for me.

i may have to give in and go for toilet roll inners that wife was favouring, in view of general opinion.

that's goign to cost me, as i said no way initially

thanks all

Stu

I think the deeper rootrainers (Sherwood/5"/12cm) are great. I use them for Broad Beans, Peas, Runner Beans and French Beans. I haven't tried them for Sweet Peas as I have some tall square pots that I have used for many years for those and I like the way with pots you can move them one by one out of the propagator as they are ready. I was given a mixture of depths originally but have made so little use of the shorter ones I have bought tall "refills" (manufacturer calls them Books), they use the same frames, for them this year. I have had a few separate but I have given them a lot of use and they were second hand when I was given them. I get them from Ronaash the manufacturers www.rootrainers.co.uk - worth joining with someone to spread the postage, the service was excellent.

Like Geoff, I like root trainers for some plants. The advertising says that the roots run down the grooves, reach the open end and then get cut off by the airflow, forcing the plant to put down more roots, which makes for a bushy, strong root system. I found this did happen and whatever I've grown in them has developped well, especially leeks, which I sow as clusters of plants.They're too expensive to sow everything into them, but they do last a long time.

Hi

You can get them on e-bay (new) much cheaper than elsewhere - approx £8 for one set or £15 for 2 including postage.

GG

I used them for the first time last year - always avoided them before 'cos they seemed a bit expensive. Got mine second hand at a garden open day. Very happy with the results - I'll be back there again this year. Let me know if you want me to bag a bargain for you too.

I tried some last year, but was a bit disappointed, they were a lot more fiddly than I expected (mine kept popping open!), and the plastic was quite thin, I can't imagine them lasting six years! Apparently older ones used to be more sturdy?