[Zippy]

I have sown Early Nantes in loo rolls in fine seed compost. The roots are showing at the bottoms of the rolls but the plants are only showing seed leaves on most of the plants and some have few small true leaves showing.

Have the nutrients fizzled out do you think? Is there something in the loo roll which is stunting growth?

Of those of you who use this method to start Carrots off for planting out, what do your plantlets usually look like before they go for planting?

I have been using this method to bring on Parsnips and they look the same - one pair of true leaves if I'm lucky.

[bigben]

I read on a parsnip thread that you cannot hang about with carrots or parsnips in loo rolls as they both send down their tap root pretty quickly. If the roots bottom out before they are planted there is the risk of forking. I have never tried to do carrots in loo rolls as I always felt I would need too many to get a decent crop.

 I have started parsnips in them but found they did stay pretty small until I got them into the ground. So you might be right about the lack of nutrients.

Someone else recently posted a picture of using a bulb planter to dig out holes which they then filled with a compost sand mix and planted their carrots/ parsnips direct. I am thinking of giving this a try next year for carrots. The main reason for starting parsnips in tubes was to get them to germinate in the warmth. However I can see it would save a lot of tubes for carrots.

[compo]

 Carrots and parsnips do tend to have a long tap root which seems to grow more than leaves, but dont worry, when in the final positions they come on a treat. I cant grow carrots sown directly, dont know why, but in loo rolls they thrive. Parsnips are done the same way. I use this method for peas, broads, french, runner, and sweet peas. I get a much better success rate. If you think about it, when sowing runners or french beans into a trench, others recommend putting newspaper or cardboard into the bottom to conserve moisture etc. Putting them in rolls is just a different take on this idea. It can help conserve the moisture. If i have one with a long tap root, i snip it off so it doesnt curl up the wrong way in the dib hole. It soon catches up.

[compostqueen]

I wouldn't transplant carrots as they grow perfectly well directly sown either in the ground or their final container

[alwayshopeful]

I have tried this method for the first time this year.  My main reason for this was so that I could plant one seed per roll and not have to worry about thinning out (cause I'm a bit lazy like that!!).  I'm also hoping it will deter the badgers from digging them up yet again - not sure why I think toilet roll will deter a hoard of hungry badgers but as the name suggests; I live in hope!! 

I planted mine in the ground whilst the leaves were quite small (before I got my true leaves) and covered them with fleece.  They are doing really well now and seem to have shot up.   

[Zippy]

Last night I took all my loo roll carrots and planted them into my Carrot Fly proof bed (3ft high woven sack supported by bamboo sticks and buried in the ground all round) and waiting in anticipation.

In retrospect, it would've been easier to make compost/sand filled sowing trenches in this area and sown direct; maybe cover with fleece to catch dewfall to keep the area moist until germination. Also sowing into "final position" containers; not transerring the seedlings.

It's a learning process is it not and sometimes someone else's experience is not enough - you have to try things for yourself.