What a waste of time. Lottie Neighbour gave me a few pepper plants in them. Difficult to get the seedlings out, compost with white bits all over it, loo roll to dispose of. 99p for 20 small pots money well spent.
ooh, controversial! Lots of us swear by them, although I must say I have never used them for peppers.Generally you don't need to take the seedlings out of them, just plant them whole and they break down in the soil.
Yup, I use them too, cut them in half then fill with compost, I make sure they are well watered before planting to help the loo roll break down and then you don;t need to remove them. They're free and not plastic which is good in my book.
After seeing all the white bits Caroline i would'nt trust whats in them. Don'y you find them fiddly?
(http://i433.photobucket.com/albums/qq56/STEVE69OOO/S1050457.jpg)
I have no problems with loo rolls. I cut every roll in half and plant a seed in each. When the plant gets to about 2 or 3cm tall plant the whole lot into the soil. As Caroline has said, there is no need to remove the plant from the loo roll. The white mould you get on the rolls won't harm the plant
Surely, other than the fact they're essentially free, the single best thing about them is that you don't have to take the seedlings out and disturb their roots... If you do then yep, they're probably a pain the bum but I think you're missing the point a tad.... :)
As for white bits, I've never had anthing like that, but then I've never opened them up to look, just planted them out. Always been fine for me, particularly with my parsnips this year... :)
i use them too with no problems, as already been said you don't have to remove from the tubes, and the mould on the tube and sometimes the soil is eating the tube and won't be harmful to your seedling (think of findig mushrooms in your veg bed they aren't living on your plants but on dead decaying matter in the soil). the only thing to be mindful of is to plant the entire tube under the soil level to allow the tube to completely breakdown because any bits sticking out and remaining dry will take longer to breakdown.
My only problem is collecting them, my OH insists on throwing them away, including the ones i have collected if he can possibly manage.
Yeah suppose your right if your planting the loo roll its not much messing about, but its easy enough to tap a plant out of a pot.
Neil, I'm disappointed in you!
Great for parsnips, you can germinate 'em in the warmth in a few days then plant the lot out undisturbed.
The whole point is that you don't tap them out....... ::)
I think it's each to their own. If you prefer plastic pots, that's great. Another reason i like the loo rolls is that it takes very little potting compost to fill half a loo roll. I've tried planting my cabbage and such in seed trays, but its to much hassle trying to separate them come planting out time.
I think you must all be Blue Peter babies.
not sure about a blue peter baby more like a frugal young gal ;D
HADN'T THOUGHT OF PLANTING MY CABBAGES IN THEM. GOING OUT NOW TO CUT THE ONES I'VE GOT LEFT IN HALF
mmmmmmmmmm, mite have a go at the loo roll seed pot, havnt tried them b4. :P
I use loo rolls for cabbage, beetroot, broad beans,parsnips, broccoli, sprouts,caulies, infact most things and I`ve never had a problem
well powerspade, I sure am going to try them now if you can get all that started off in them ;D
Last year I did my peas and sweetcorn in them... and currently have mangetout starting in them in the porch. Shove them in a tray (or empty food carton) and pack them tightly before you start filling with soil. Doesn't really matter if a bit of soil goes between them. When it comes to planting out just separate them and plant as a block.
I've always planted as a full roll but am now tempted to start chopping in half for some of the smaller stuff!
i sometimes collect used teabags as well and stuff them in the bottom to hold the soil in when planting broad beans. I forgot to collect them this year and stuffed a bit of newspaper in instead.
I use them fr sunflowers, you get a fantastic root system on them :)
Quote from: Eristic on April 20, 2009, 14:46:41
I think you must all be Blue Peter babies.
If i stick them together first, i could make a cabbage shaped rocket :o
Quote from: SPUDLY on April 20, 2009, 20:24:32
Quote from: Eristic on April 20, 2009, 14:46:41
I think you must all be Blue Peter babies.
If i stick them together first, i could make a cabbage shaped rocket :o
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Actually, give your family more prunes and you'll have an endless supply
just pinned a recycle bag in the toilet with a note attached 'empty loo rolls please for next years seed pots' lol, think I mite have enough by then :P
I have two young children and therfore an endless supply! Currently stacked against the shed wiindow but need to move as losing light!!