In message , Jaques
d'Alltrades writes
The message
from "hillier" contains these words:

I have been told I could improve my runner bean crop by planting seeds in
cardboard tubes, such as toilet roll cores, to give a better root. Has
anyone tried this and does it work ?

Best is to plant them in the soil.

Much prefer to sow in modules and then plant out myself. For things like
bean we use Rootrainers - we just CBA with toilet roll insides :-)

At the end of the season (and before
any frost) dig the roots up and store them over winter in dry sand in a
cool place which will not freeze.

There was a 'members experiment' in the HDRA mag, ISTR that the general
feeling was that while it did work, and theplanst were a little
eralier, it was a bit unreliable, and not really worth the effort.
--
Chris French and Helen Johnson, Leeds
urg Suppliers and References FAQ:
http://www.familyfrench.co.uk/garden/urgfaq/index.html