Topic: Big Snips

[dicky]

Hello

Hope everyone had a good christmas.

One thing I wanted at the end of my first year was to be able to eat my own veg xmas day, didn't do too bad in the end, the leeks, parsnips and spuds were all my own work.

The parsnips I was particulary proud of, almost a foot long in the end.

Next year I want carrots and cauliflowers as well. Shame about the brocolli ;-(



Dicky

[kt.]

Never grown parsnips yet. Gonna try next year. Hopemine will be at least the  same size as yours....  Parsnips!

[Tulipa]

Wow, you are lucky - I sowed 2 packets of 300 seeds each and got three decent sized snips and lots of tiny ones, it has not been a good year for parsnips for everyone this year, problems with germinating due to the weather, so you must be very proud!

Had to dig up lots to find enough for christmas dinner! :( :( :(

[saddad]

We only had seven from four rows! Dug them all up at once for Xmas, some in a bucket of a soil by the back door....
 ;D

[kt.]

From the previous 2 comments, are parsnips difficult to grow? Or is it just bad weather?

[mr plasma]

im no expert had my allotment last july and have not had chance to grow much as yet,........... roll on next year! but i have been told that they are difficult to germinate and take forever to grow therefore they occupy precious ground for a long time.

[Tulipa]

I think it was just a bad year this year, lots of people said it was. :( 

I had loads more last year from much less seed, they all germinated first time, and there were so many postings last year about how well people's parsnips had grown, Dicky, yours is the first I have seen this year! T.

[Mrs Ava]

Snips look great Dicky.  They can be a bugger to germinate as they don't like sitting in damp cold ground for ages.  If you look at the seeds, they are flat like discs - which sit flat in the ground.  If the ground is very wet, the seeds just sit with a puddle of water on the top, so they rot.  People also sow them a tad early.  I wait until April when it is a touch warmer and I have a good success rate with them.  They like soft ground and I sow them in a very shallow drill in an area that has been incredibly well dug and not trodden on.

I still have 2 rows of them to use.....parsnip soup anyone?

[cornykev]

We had loads and still have loads in the freezer and the in ground, had some quite big ones too. Sowed in two areas one did not bad the other my mate helped with he covered with potting compost that was damp he then got his trowel and smoothed off, like he was screening a floor I did laugh at him but he had the last laugh they grew really big. ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

They're slow to germinate and rot if it's cold. I don't plant before April any more, and this year I'm going to use fleece. Last year's planting was hopeless.

[Froglegs]

A friend of mine makes newspapper tubes fills them with compo puts 3 seeds per tube pops them in the glasshouse till they germinate,then thins them out to 1 seedling,hardens them off for a couple of days then plants them out. Allways gets a decent crop. I on the other hand have sown in traditional way for the past 3 years with Gladiator and not had a problem apart from what to do with the surplus. ::) ;D

[Tulipa]

I sowed Tender and True each time, dibbed big holes with the crow bar and filled with mixed multipurpose compost/sieved soil having waited until April, 3 seeds to each station - wish I had been able to thin them out!  So had followed lots of advice from A4a.  The only thing I can think is that I didn't water enough, I remember it being very dry at the time so did water them, but possible the multipurpose didn't get wet enough.

I am not sure whether to allocate space to them next year!

Or should I try Gladiator instead.  I had really good success with Tender and True and White Gem last year.  And having used 2 different new packets of T and T this year, they couldn't have both been old stock?

At least Robert and Dad were the same!  I remember other people posting that their parsnips had failed to germinate too, so don't get despondent and not grow them, it was just bad  luck with the weather this year for me!

I think I will try 2 varieties and try some with sieved soil again and some just sown in ordinary raised bed and see how I go.  And perhaps fleece too like Robert!  If they don't grow again I shall give up, but they were delicious last year!

T.

[Froglegs]

I sow mine on raised beds which helps with drainage and the soil seems to warm up earlier this way . also i water the drill before i sow the seed then cover and not after,i have put the seed in this way the seed does not have to push up though a hard crust made of dry topsoil....poor things. ;D



       

[Tulipa]

Mine definitely didn't have a hard crust to fight through which made me think they were too dry in the compost.

[Froglegs]

Well then it must be ya not putting the seed in the right way up ::),they have a top n bottem you know!!! ;D

[Froglegs]

bottom even :-[

[glow777]

I did a bit of a test last year

sowed some direct - mixed results from two sowings March/April

put some in paper pots - all OK bit of a faff and some forked routes

pregerminated some and then planted direct (March) all the seed that were planted out grew fine no spacing required and virtually everyone was 12"+

These were all True & Tender but next year I'm going for Gladiator from Alan Romans @ 50p a packet - hope 200 seeds are enough!

[Larkshall]

A friend of mine makes newspapper tubes fills them with compo puts 3 seeds per tube pops them in the glasshouse till they germinate,then thins them out to 1 seedling,hardens them off for a couple of days then plants them out. Allways gets a decent crop. I on the other hand have sown in traditional way for the past 3 years with Gladiator and not had a problem apart from what to do with the surplus. ::) ;D

I saw some "Root Trainer" pots today, lightweight split pots, folded at the bottom and five in a row. These should be good to start off the parsnip seed in the greenhouse or propagator, give them ideal conditions and plant out as soon as possible. Clean them up and pack them away after use and they should last several years.

[Merry Tiller]

Hey, what about sprouts?

[Rosyred]

Hi Dicky - I had the same idea as you about growing veg for Christmas dinner. Your parnips look good and it makes you feel so proud when you do it yourself. You can check out my blog to see my parnips.....