Topic: Parsnips

[jimc]

I sow direct as I do for carrots. When I have tried to transplant them roots get damaged. Maybe I left them too long.
I always sow in early autumn as seeds ripen on old plants, so seed is the freshest. In fact I usually just let them fall to the ground when ripe and let them germinate as they see fit. They will germinate on and off for most of the year especially after a good fall of rain. I pick/eat parsnips every day of the year.
Remembering I am in Oz, I just planted my next experimental crop 4 days ago.
I have had such a great success with carrots that I thought I would try the same with parsnips too.
My soil is pH 8.5, shale gravel and clay. Too hard to dig so I just plonked a little soil, compost and hay on top and planted into that. The results for carrots is that they are  forked. On the other hand I have to use a crow bar to get parsnips out because somehow they go straight down weaving their way through the gravel and rocks. Soaking the ground also helps to get them out.
So about 6 years ago I got 20mm gravel and built a box 1500mm long by 80mm wide and 200mm deep. I added a few mm of sand on top to hold the seed. I fed it with worm wee every 10 days, added the odd amount of worm castings and animal manure over the year and would harvest at least 7Kg of carrots each year. They usually have a bend in the root when they hit the bottom.
Now I have just completed a 3000X1000X300mm wicking bed using all the old gravel plus some from another project and sand on top.
As I said carrots and parsnips planted 4 days ago. Being heatwave conditions (35C for last 3 days) I cover the sand with 2 or 3 layers of shade cloth to try to keep some moisture near the top. I have planted excess seed (my own harvest) anticipating to weed out many.
Not sure how 300mm deep will go for parsnips because I often find them 4-500mm long.

[Clayhithe]

In my experience,  there are two things.
1.  Fresh seed.
2.  Warm ground.   The seeds won't germinate below 8deg C,  and are best at 12deg C.   This happens around the end of April,  beginning of May in Cambridgeshire.

In early May I scatter seed on raked ground,  cover lightly with soil or sand,  water and wait.
Rarely need to wait more than a fortnight.   Very high germination rate.
The roots are no smaller than others locally.

[Digeroo]

I sow mine in Feb and March.  Far to dry in May onwards to develop good sized roots.

Certainly never seem to have needed 12 degrees for good germination.  Maybe we get some warm sunny days which gets them excited.

[Vinlander]

If this sounds arrogant I apologise now and explain later.

Have you ever looked at a parsnip seed (or any other flat seed from an umbellifer - Lovage etc.) and wondered how a "wild" one gets itself buried 5mm deep like the seed packets recommend?

The answer is 99.99%  it doesn't - not without human help. It lands flat on a surface and blows away again until it finds a damp one or gets rained on. It then quite happily sends a root down and is even more happy if it doesn't have to lift any soil with its shoot.

I did NOT predict this - I'm not smart enough - I had to have a friend tell me that he scattered some seed in desperation after many drills failed and he couldn't be bothered even hoeing them in. He got massive germination - and that's when I really looked at the seed.

Round seeds like cabbage family roll into cracks, seeds on a parachute drop into holes, but flat-winged seeds just lie on the surface.

I know that seed drills do work if you aren't on 100% clay, but my theory is that in as little as a year parsnip seeds lose the oomph to lift a shoot and get soil out of the way. 3 year-old parsnip seeds in a drill will give you virtually no germination, but scattered onto damp soil and left alone they behave like more ordinary seeds of the same age and come up 50% or more.

I've been doing this for 3 years now and I'm still amazed how much difference it makes.

I'm not amazed that the seed suppliers haven't told us - why would they? Fresh seed is best - no question - but old seed is almost as good and costs nothing apart from a thicker sowing and less work (and a slightly wobbly row).

Cheers.

[BarriedaleNick]

If this sounds arrogant I apologise now and explain later.

Not at all! Interesting points worth considering..
Do you earth them up at all - once they have became established?

[Vinlander]

I didn't do anything to them apart from dig them out - but.

I have to admit I drew a hoe lightly down the bed to make a smoother area to spread them on, and this means that over time the rain may have moved soil from the higher edges over them.

I also gave them a few extra sprinkles of water in a dry spell a few days or so after sowing to compensate for their dry exposed position

I should also point out that allowing the weaker seed to sprout might explain why I had a much broader range of sizes - without the brutal evolutionary pinch-point provided by the drill method.

Cheers.

[goodlife]

Code: [Select]

I had to have a friend tell me that he scattered some seed in desperation after many drills failed and he couldn't be bothered even hoeing them in. He got massive germination - and that's when I really looked at the seed.

Sometimes the most obvious explanation is the best one...and it could 'stab' us into eye and we still fail to see it...

YES....what you said does make sense...and I'm going to put in practise as soon as the soil warm up a little. I have plenty of 'out of date' parsnip seeds that I was going to get rid of...

I have bad habbit of thinking things too far and making big effort to make conditions for germination 'perfect'...it is hard to 'let i t go' and learn to do things simple way...BUT.... I'm looking forward to this little experiment... ..and should it all go well, lessons are to be learned and I have to start thinking differently 'how we should do things'.

[ACE]

So after standing there for hours trying to spot the little white roots then with a magnifying glass, pair of tweezers and paper cones of compost I slowly plant them all on and I'm still only halfway through the process. Then I find that just chucking some old seed  on the ground is the preferred method.

I don't even like them.

[Digeroo]

Like Vinlander I also noticed that self sown ones come up in profusion and realised that surface sowing was the answer.  I believe they need light for germination. 

I have begun to earth up later it reduces the scab.