Roottrainer alternatives?

[sienewman]

Hi, I have used roottrainers for many years, made by Haxnicks and the quality of them has massively declined and the new ones break very easily.

Does anyone have any recommendations for either roottrainer alternatives or better quality versions?

[Nicos]

Interesting thread sienewman.
I bought my first ones ever this year. Over here that are even more expensive!
The pack arrived damaged and they sent a replacement. Both pretty rubbish quality compared to what I was anticipating tbh.

So, yes, I’de be interested in hearing if anyone else has found an alternative!

[Mark Rand]

Go to your local DIY shed and buy a length of 2 1/2", 68mm plastic drain pipe and cut it into 8"/200mm lengths. Job done.

Use a slightly longer length to cut holes in the growing bed when ready to plant them out.

Push the plants and soil out of the pipes with a bit of wood.

[Bren In Pots]

There's always loo rolls they break down in the soil meaning you just plant the whole thing.

[smallblueplanet]

Hi, I have used roottrainers for many years, made by Haxnicks and the quality of them has massively declined and the new ones break very easily.

Does anyone have any recommendations for either roottrainer alternatives or better quality versions?

I was looking for rootrainers yesterday, we use them for beans and stuff. Searching on Amazon I see that there are quite a few different 'varieties' now. They seem to be under the heading 'germination cells' or similar. Says about this 'version': "Long life injection moulded plant cells and base tray give years of repeated use. Cells can be easily cleaned and sterilised in a dishwaher after use."

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Muddy-Hands...dp/B0CV5Z9Y7H/

[Snoop Puss]

Your idea sounds good, Mark Rand.

I bought some root trainers a few years back and was shocked at how useless they were. Thin plastic that wouldn't even have been used in a supermarket for selling salad. They barely lasted the first year. And not cheap.

I now use deep module trays from the Farm Dream. Some of their products I don't find so useful (the 60 cell trays promoted by Charles Dowding have very small cells that dry out too quickly to be useful for me here), but they're all very sturdy and last for years, come rain or shine.

[Nicos]

Some interesting ideas there peeps.
My loo rolls are biodegradable- in that you can flush them down the loo…so that idea won’t work for me I’m afraid…although kitchen rolls are still a possibility I guess?

[Andraste]

Kitchen roll inners are just as good as loo roll inners - they can sometimes be a bit sturdier depending on what brand you use & can be cut to size if they're too long. The only trouble I have is stopping the compost coming out of the bottom - even when you put them into a container of some sort to give a base. I've taken to stuffing in a square of kitchen roll first - bigger than the hole - which seems to help somewhat in giving a bit of a 'bottom' to them (if anyone has a better method I'd be grateful).

You could also maybe make your own from newspaper? I've stuck in a link for the method I use (there are loads of tutorials around if you google DIY newspaper pots). I've tried a different method in the past that left me with little 'wings' flapping at the sides at the top of each pot that were fiddly to tuck in when filling with compost/bury when planting out. I find this method's bit more sturdy & the 'flap' is on the base out of the way.

http://youtu.be/7dlGQP81yfo

You can quite easily make different sizes using the same method - e.g. a double-page spread for a bigger one, cutting a single page into 1/2 or 1/4 etc. for smaller ones. Making your first fold in landscape rather than portrait can change the dimension too. Hours of fun on a rainy day

[ChingfordHarry]

I noticed that Marb67 in the thread "Runner beans not germinating" (https://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gr...ot-germinating) appears to be using non-Haxnicks splittable root-trainers - they may be able to offer an opinion (but since their seeds didn't germinate they might give a rude answer)!

[Nicos]

Well spotted!^^^^
I’m sure he won’t mind us asking

[Right Shed Fred]

I know I'm replying to an old thread but the containerwise tall, hard plastic trays are what I graduated to after giving up with Root trainers from Haxnicks. It's not just the root trainers themselves but the flimsy tray for them that tipped me over the edge.
you can buy them from Containerwise directly or amazon. There's also a tray that goes underneath - it's nice but not essential. They come in different sizes, based on how many cells there are per tray (more cells, each cell is smaller).
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Containerwi.../dp/B0CHBCJNJP

[Peanut]

Those look great! Thanks for the link Right Shed Fred

[Nicos]

I particularly like the fact that you can push the plugs out via a decent holes at the bottom. They do look far more sturdy.

I see they get good reviews on Amazon too!

[Nicos]

Darn….ones just jumped into my basket when I wasn’t looking

[Peanut]

Well isn't that strange Nicos the same thing happened to me earlier, only I wasn't going to tell anyone!