Being a lousy sower, I'm grateful for modules - esp for Spring Onions - grow them in ready made bunches - £1/bunch in the s/market!! = Tim
Why have I never thought of that, tim. I sow quite a lot of spring onions successively (not always successfully) and my rows are always patchy. will certainly try modules for my next sowing.
Planting them out, when ready - of course! = Tim
I have to confess to using more modules this year than ever before. I'm being slowly converted from A4 size tray sowing. I have my second batch of spring onions in one. Endives do well there too, as do tiny seedlings like mint and lavender.
Yes, we already sow peas, beans, lettuce, cabbages etc etc in modules I just never thought of spring onions and it does seem obvious now!
Yup, I use modules, have alsorts of shapes and sizes, weeny to start weeny things right up to biggish ones for....ahem...biggish things. I loves 'em because I loath pricKing out and this means I don't have to, well, unless the seeds are weeny in which case I do a pinch per module and thin them out...well that is the theory!
Second thoughts on planting the onions out - WHY?
In a suitably sized module, might they not grow to usable size??
But they might not 'hold' so well?
Watering hassle?
Insufficient houseroom? = Tim
It depends on the plant. I mean, 'greedys' like tom's, gourds, cuc's and sunflower such won't live too long in a small module and will need re-potting. The likes of sweet-peas, lettuce, spring onions and endive should be OK until planting out time.
We're talking about Spring Onions, Ken?? = Tim
Bless modules- after the fiasco I laughingly call the veg patch-(it was posted elsewhere) I can sow stuff to be ready for when and if I put things right.
Stephan.
I grow quite a lot of my stuff on in modules.
I keep a selection of 1", 2" & 3" modules and prick out into the size most suited to the plant/s I am growing.
As a general rule; I sow into 1"square modules, prick out bedding into 2" and veggies into 3"
Things such as Cucurbit's I grow on in 4" pots.
A knowledge of eventual rootball size and the time they will be in the module prior to planting out, helps me to select which size I need.
I certainly try to avoid the plants becoming 'pot bound' or is it 'cell bound'?
If needs be I will pot up from one cell size to the next, if planting out time is sometime away.
So, no takers on my query?? C'mon now! = Tim
OK I guess a pinch to a 3" cell/module might work, but don't let them dry out.
Will that do? ::)
I guess it depends on the size onions you want. I have bought 'salad onions' which are just like pencils, or 'spring onions' which have bulbous ends. I bet pencil like ones would be okay in the cells. After all, I have a tray of cut and come again lettuce leaves growing in a regular seed tray, now I know they aren't going to make great big plants, and they are only really going to do a couple of cuts before they are all worn out, but it is salad, quick to grow, so what the hell!
p.s. Tim, I am officially a copy cat - I have spring onions in cells in my greenhouse now, and I intend to leave them there! :o
How many weeks are spring onions to harvest, approx?
I thought I was being a bit ambitious - the cells shown are 1 3/4" square. But I'll leave a few in & see what happens. Watering? They stand on a capillary mat.
I prefer the pencil thickness - easier to chop & no pieces of bulb left over. Start at the top & work down to the white bit, Any remainder with root stands in a drop of water with the others.
Time to harvest - don't know. = Tim
Tim,
I haven't tried spring onions in modules but I did sow some in a quarter tray on the kintchen window sill at the end of Jan (To see if they would make an educational gardening thing for schools)
They germinated ok but haven't bulked up yet
Phil
I plant my Gladioli amongst other things in Modules .Then just make a hole and pop them in.No root disturbance whatsoever.
(http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v157/budgiebreeder/gladioli.jpg)
It's taken me some time to do it but here is a picture of a tray I got from Kays. They cost ~£6 for 3 (a lot less that rootrainers but have the same effect - unfortunately they don't open to get the plant out, but consequently they are less fiddly to set up.
(http://www.plant-seed-mailorder.org.uk/trays.jpg)
The trays are about twice the size of a normal 14" tray and as you can see from the results, produce well rooted plants (they have the same vertical ridges that rootrainers claim produce good roots)
(http://www.plant-seed-mailorder.org.uk/broadbeans.jpg)
(http://www.plant-seed-mailorder.org.uk/broadbeans.jpg)
Click on the the fourth icon bottom row (under S ) and you should get (//)
Place the url between the ][ brackets
By golly, you're right it does - many thanks
Jolly decent, old chap!!
So what size cells?
And do you push them out from the bottom, or use a 2 pronged fork. Or do they just pull/tip out?
Some never seem to want to give up their creation. = Tim
1. I just knew someone would ask that - so I forgot to check! - I will and report back.
2. They do have a large hole so that they can be prodded from below, but the broad beans had such solid root masses that they pulled out
Phil
Finally I measured the cells, they're 4.5cm square by 11cm deep and cost £5.95 for 3 or £9.95 for 6
They are a great size - only prob is so many to a tray.
I am tending to use 20-24s. Pity. = Tim
I find I am cutting my trays up into double rows. A lot of the time I only want 8 or 10 plants, or less of a particular thing.
Jeremy
I agree on the size "problem" but I have 4ft x 15ft beds on the allotment so 1 tray (=60 modules) =
half a bed of broad or dwarf french beans
2 beds of sweet corn
1 bed of runner beans
I like to grow most of my crops in modules or pots. It seems to guarantee a good start for the plants rather than toughing it out against pests and the weather out in the soil.
I sow large seeded plants in modules but until recently grew fine seeded plants like lettuce in trays then transplanted. However a recent debate on this site concerning modules v trays, convinced me to try direct sowing into modules with some lettuce. I sowed 2/3 seeds per module and the germination rate was fine.
The problem started when I realised the plants had out grown their modules before i was ready to plant out, so decided to pot them up into larger cells to grow on for a bit longer. The 'plugs' in each cell then disintegrated as i was trying to remove them, and I ended up 'pr*cking out' plants far larger than i would use this technique on.
Not that this is realy a problem I am sure the plants will be fine, it just kind of defeats the object of modular sowing and growing doesnt it?
A little planning helps??
Including the right sized cell for the job?
My prob this year has been overpotting.
Cutting the trays - of course!! The only things I grow 60 of are leeks. = Tim
Richard, I find so long as the trays have been well watered an hour or so before you want to start potting on, they come out relatively easily. I use a pencil to prod though the bottom of the cells to push the plug out. I do agree with Tim regarding using the right size modules for the plant and generally, unless I am slow at getting things planted, I find the plants stay in their modules until they are planted out.
I cut mine also Tim, or, sow in rows and label each row accordingly.
I love module trays! ;D
Rows? Great if their timing is similar. More often than not, I find that things need different treatment - of warmth, light or exposure for h/off.
The pencil? Equally, some have such piddling holes that the only thing you can get in will break up the root-ball. I'm using a wee 2 pronged fork. = Tim
I am still learning/experimenting with modules to an extent, though when the plants have a good rootball, and they just pop out into (pick one) pot/larger module/soil, it makes the effort worthwhile. When though the rootball falls apart when you try to remove the plug, it can be a nightmare.
One thing I have learned noew is that you shouldnt water the cells too soon befroe potting them on - moist but not wet and they pop out fine. If soggy they diintegrate into a mass of compost and roots. Ditto if too dry. ::) That was the problem I was talking about - the cells were dry, I gave them a soak then tried to remove the plugs - not a good idea!