Grow Your Own Magazine

After spending a few hours this afternoon watching some clips on the bbc website gardeningbasics i think i've messed up with my carrots,parsnips&leeks obviously these root veg are quite long and i've sown them into moduels but there only about a inch and half deep have i wasted my time sowing them will this stunt there growth ?? i've also sown cabbage,caulis in moduels and i've got my potatoes & onions waiting to be planted out but i'am a bit scared its still a little cold

I've Got a lot to learn

The brassicas (cabbage etc) should be fine but think your carrots and parsnips will struggle and become deformed. plant some more in toilet roll middles (these allow a good root run and no disturbance as you plant the whole lot out). Leeks will probably be okay too.

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

Cabbage and caulis ok. Carrots and parsnips will need to be planted out before the tap root develops too far, (let them get a couple of true leaves) or their growth may be affected. Any outside plantings can be protectd by cloche or fleece while they are still little.

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I'd rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

http://hollandsroadparadise.blogspot.com
updated 14 May 2008

www.bradleyroundtwo.blogspot.com

Right ok
shirlthegirl i'am very new to this if i plant carrot & parsnip in toilet roll middles should i sow 1 seed per middle?

All gettin a bit mind boggleing this veg growing al be ok in ten years wen would u recomend just sowing hem outside?

kirsty are you suggesting leave them in the moduels till they get a couple of leaves on them then plant them out?


AWWW my ed hurts

Yup, one seed per loo roll unless you have a harder heart than me and can pull out and chuck away the 'weaker' one. I actually sow my carrots in the black florist buckets as I don't have very deep soil. I fill them with sieved garden soil and sow the carrots at the final spacing stated on the packet.

For timings, you really can't beat the seed packets for general sowing times, and get yourself a copy of Dr Hessayon's Vegetable and Herb expert for further reference, I find it really handy for basic growing advice.

You will be confident in what you are doing a lot quicker than 10 years I promise (I am just on my 3rd year)!! Keep notes of what you do this year and refer to those next year.

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

Yes, they will be ok in the modules for a little bit, but in future it would be best to go with Shirley's suggestion that they go in loo roll tubes. I have transplanted them from one spot to another before now and they were ok but didn't reach any decent length.

Don't worry too much about it. I didn't get a single carrot longer than 3 inches and thicker than a small pencil last year cos my daughter kept pulling them and eating them.

__________________
I'd rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.

http://hollandsroadparadise.blogspot.com
updated 14 May 2008

www.bradleyroundtwo.blogspot.com

Well thanks to both of you....as i say i'am new to this learn by your mistakes they say....
oh well

Or, if you want to be really posh and have a few bob extra, you can start them off in root trainers, especially the parsnips.

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TonyF, Dordogne 24220

I am home tomorrow (woohhhoooooo) and will be doing the loo roll thingy. When its time to stick em in the deck, are they taken out of the tube and into the ground or just into the ground tube and all, to minimise disturbance and allow the cardboard to biodegrade?
I think STG from reading what you said its the whole lot into the ground but I'm not sure.
Also, how do you keep them watered before planting out, surely the cardboard will dissolve with water?
As always a bone question but I dont know!!

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Bob Leponge
I dont live in a pineapple but I am trying to grow one

whole lot into the ground, the cardboard will biodegrade

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Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

I think by the time you get true leaves your parsnips will be too far gone in modules. I planted mine out last year from loo roll middles when they had 2 true leaves and already a good few of them had the leading root showing out of the loo roll - quite a long tap root. I'd start again. I haven't yet started my parsnips off. March (middle of) will be soon enough.

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Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated November 30th - Mr Stinky's Excellent Adventure (and a Christmas Cake)