[alfman]

Hi everybody,I'm thinking of buying some root trainers but have no experience of them at all so if anyone out there have used them can you give me a rundown on them. I've seen some for sale at "garden superstore" for £16.19 for two, does that look reasonable? (don't know about p&p) I'm thinking of starting my onions and parsnips in them, mainly because parsnips are notoriously difficult to germinate, so would they be happier to start off in trainers and then transplant out when the soil warms up and the onions take up a lot of my 3" pots so at first glance root trainers look a good idea. Thanks in advance for your comments.

[des]

Not sure if its relevant, but a friend of mine sows seeds in cardboard toilet roll holders full of compost then plants the whole thing in the ground when appropriate.

[Robin Redbreast]

i am not sure whether nike or adidas would approve but give it a try works for some athletes!      

sorry couldnt help myself, on a serious note i dont know the answer but someone will!!!

[alfman]

That was nearly funny Alandkell  (when I worked it out). Silly Billy.

[Minty]

Not sure if its relevant, but a friend of mine sows seeds in cardboard toilet roll holders full of compost then plants the whole thing in the ground when appropriate.

Yep that's we we do,works out a lot cheaper than £16.19 and does the same job.

[r1bazza]

Not sure if its relevant, but a friend of mine sows seeds in cardboard toilet roll holders full of compost then plants the whole thing in the ground when appropriate.

Yep that's we we do,works out a lot cheaper than £16.19 and does the same job.

  Same here;broad beans come up luverly in them,and you just plant straight in the ground.

[peapod]

Using cardboard tubes is easy and cheap.It makes my blood boil to see people getting ripped off like this!

[Trillium]

Check out this previous post:

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=2597&highlight=rootrainers

[tallulah]

Those home-made newspaper pots are a great idea, but I do have a concern that some toxic inks or other chemicals may leach out into the compost, and be absorbed into the plant - or am I being neurotic?

[Trillium]

I believe that worldwide, newspapers have all switched to vegetable dye inks so are harmless albeit messy if you get the black stuff on your fingers.

[nellie.b]

I bought some roottrainers about ten years ago from a garden show.I use them every year and there still going strong,so i would call them great value for money.(but cardboard tubes are still cheaper!)

[zazen999]

I'm new on here but been veg gardening a few years now.

Roottrainers are fab. I avidly collect cardboard tubes, but now only use these when the root trainers are full to the brim. I put pretty much everything in them now. I've got a full size set and when my OH wasn't getting the hint, bought myself a mini set for Christmas for the kitchen window. Both have been full since the day I got them - they get emptied out and if nothing else is ready to sow, then onions or leeks are put in just to use the space.

[compostqueen]

yes, they can be re-used. I like the loo rolls though and use them for all sorts. Don't over water them or you get mould growing on them; harmless though