Kitchen Garden Forum

I've just picked a pretty satisfactory crop from my sweet corn which was sown in two different ways - individually in pots, which were transplanted, and individually in loo rolls filled with compost. Interestingly, the plants sown in pots and transplanted produced bigger cobs than those sown and planted out in loo rolls. Having now pulled up most of the stalks I found that the roots of those planted in loo rolls had struggled to break through the cardboard, which had not disintegrated, despite generous watering. I was under the impression that sweet corn didn't like to have it roots disturbed which is why I used the loo roll method and wonder whether any sweet corn growers this year have experienced this problem. I now await with a little anxiety to find out what has happened to the parsnips I planted out in loo rolls in case a similar problem has occurred.

Dear Primrose, not sure why the Sweetcorn roots didn't force their way through the tubes, unless the tube stayed dry for a while. But i'm sure the Parsnips will be fine as their roots will be heading downwards and a swelling Parsnip will be more than a match for a cardboard tube.

Hope this puts your mind at rest.

Hi Primrose,
Unlike Sweetcorn, Parsnips have a very strong taproot which grows straight out the bottom of the loo roll. I think that because of the root pattern of Sweetcorn it is a mistake to sow in loo rolls. The Sweetcorn roots do not expand like a Parsnip which by swelling breaks down the loo roll sides.
I sow Sweetcorn in modules that are 1.5" x 1.5" x 2" deep and allow them to become slightly pot bound before planting out. When planted out they grow away very rapidly. I would suggest that growing in a 3" pot would give you a far better result.
I use loo rolls for Parsnips only. I know people use them for all manner of plants but I feel that it is a mistake to do so.
JB.

Thanks for that Johnboy. I think you're right and if I grow sweetcorn again next year I'll abandon the loo rolls. I also germinated climbing beans in them this Spring and they don't seem to have suffered from this root restriction problem.

Dear Primrose, I have used loo rools with varying degrees of success, often i found that the loo roll failed to degrade. I then heard Bob Flowerdew on the radio who said he'd had problems with toilet rolls not breaking down in the soil and when he looked into it found that now the loo rolls were sprayed with a fungicide to keep them in good shape during storage! So concluded this was why he'd had poor results. I think he may be right.
Regards Gracie

That's interesting Gracie. I'd just assumed that if the soil was kept sufficiently moist the cardboard would quickly degrade of its own accord. If the loo rolls are sprayed with fungicide, I would have thought that at least it might have protected the roots from attack, although I'd rather garden organically and not put anything in the soil if possible. I may rethink the whole loo roll thing once I've seen how my parsnips develop. If any fungicide has kept the canker away, I'll have a dilemma!