Saving Loo Rolls

How many of you are now saving Loo Roll Tubes to use as root trainers for Parsnips etc. next year?

Between June and the end of October I tend to shred the loo rolls for browns for the compost bin along with envelopes, junk mail and paper waste, But loo rolls are a valuable resource come seed sowing time. My sister saved hers for me and I know of many other allotmenteers who rope in family and friends in the saving process.

I put the Parsnips in the Takeaway Containers in 2020 on the 7th March 2020 and I had not looked at them for a couple of days, and I think I really should have.  Above is the Johnsons Organic Tender & True and I moved 10 that have chitted into loo rolls full of compost

You can see the root just forming on the one in the top left corner in the photo above and the roots on the three on the bottom row must be a day or two old.

Above is the Thompson & Morgan White Gem and they had also started to sprout and I potted on 10 from this container into loo rolls as well

The roots on these are shorter and I suspect are a day behind the Tender & True 

I've drilled the bottle cap with 6 number 1mm holes to turn the small 500ml Coke Bottle into a mini watering can which is so useful for watering seed trays in the grow stations and the Space Saver Greenhouse  

last year in March I had only managed to save 20 loo roll tubes, which is why I'm saving them earlier for 2021 season. The 20 loo rolls were filled with MPC and the top 5mm with seedling compost and the seeds were pricked out and dropped with root downwards into the centre of the roll.

I try and take the loo rolls with germinated seeds down to the allotment as place in the planting membrane within a week so that the roots don't have chance to get to the bottom of the loo roll. 

I use my funky bulb planter whos bore is just right for vending machine cups and loo rolls, place the loo roll in the bore and fill any gap with fine compost and water in well. In march 2020 I only managed to get in these 20 loo rolls before we went into lockdown. 

In 2021 I have 6 different varieties of parsnips and I'm looking at filling a whole 2.4m x 1.4m bed with a 105 hole 7 per row and 15 rows planting membrane with parsnips. 

2 rows (14) x Student Parsnip   - 200 Seeds - Mag    - Mr Fothergill's - Sow By 2021 

2 rows (14) x Palace F1             - 200 Seeds - £2.45 - Mr Fothergill's - Sow By 2021

2 rows (14) x Tender and True   - 350 Seeds - £2.09 - Johnsons        - Sow By 2022
3 rows (21) x White Gem           - 300 Seeds - £1.00 - Wilko               - Sow By 2022 

3 rows (21) x New! Picador F1  - 200 Seeds - £2.10 - Mr Fothergill's - Sow By Dec 2023

3 rows (21) x New! TZ 9045 F1 - 200 Seeds - £1.99 - D.T.Brown       - Sow By Dec 2022

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I will be offering my excess Student Parsnip & Palace F1 seeds to other plot holders.