Topic: Parsnips

[saddad]

For the first time ever my parsnips refused to germinate... I sowed four lines in a raised bed at the end of March, filled with the spent compost from last years tomatoes, peppers and so on, nothing showed. I re sowed them again at the end of April, again nothing... (well about 6 actually) so I pre soaked/germinated the seed I had left in the packet and sowed them into the lines at the end of June... now we have four good lines. Will they have time to come to anything? I don't mind "baby" parsnips... but am concerned they will have forked. Has anybody had success with such late sowings or pre chitting?

On the plus side my celeriac, turnips, carrots, Kohl Rabi and swede are all growing well... the return of this wet weather has done them a lot of good. We will have enough for root mash and roasting if the parsnips don't come to anything...

(In despair I sowed out a packet of old parsnip seed from last year that I hadn't thrown away... even a dozen of them finally came through...)

[Paulh]

I didn't sow anything outside until the first week of May and little of that came up (but no parsnips). What I sowed a month later is doing much better but I didn't repeat the parsnips.

[Tiny Clanger]

I usually sow early March in the greenhouse in toilet roll middles. This year I sowed direct end of April  and germination  has been fantastic. Two rows of Gladiator. Two rows of Warrior.

[Deb P]

I sowed two rows of two different packets, freshly seed…..not one germinated.
Tried again 5 weeks later…..same result. Carrots also very patchy. Salad onions germinated fine in modules, then just sat there doing nothing since. I’ve taken the protection mesh off and planted with salad, fennel and celery now. My leeks were transplanted into rootrainers a few weeks ago and do look like they are getting going now but I’ve never had such a mixed bag if problems getting stuff to grow on or germinate before!

[Plot22]

In my earlier allotment days parsnips were the first veg that I set probably late March. Now I never set until at least the last week of April when the soil has warmed up a bit. Despite chitting seeds I have had my fair share of failures so I moved to pelleted seeds. This year I set 3 rows of pelleted Gladiator  seeds on the 29th of April with 99% germination. I have thinned them out a little but not too much as we do not like the huge parsnips that can develop and prefer the smaller ones especially for freezing. My advice for what it is worth try pelleted seeds and do not set too early.

[gray1720]

I usually sow early March in the greenhouse in toilet roll middles. This year I sowed direct end of April  and germination  has been fantastic. Two rows of Gladiator. Two rows of Warrior.

Oooh, that's interesting - mine always either fang like octopuses or head for the clay and have to be removed like the Enormous Turnip. I'm assuming you just dib a hole and drop them in?

[Tiny Clanger]

Hi Gray 1720.  If I'm sowing seed, its just the usual.  about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep, cover and water.  Ground I have manured the previous autumn (horse).  If I'm growing in Loo Roll Middles, I wet them well to help the cardboard rot and make a hole the depth of the loo roll and that's it.  I've had very good results both ways.  I started using loo roll middles after a couple of seasons when the bifurcation got absolutely silly.  I wonder it its something to do with that year's seed?  This years were sown direct and are looking good .

[Tiny Clanger]

Hi again Saddad.  Been told by a chum tha parsnip seed iis really bad for aging.  Ive been advised to get new every year. Onion and Spring onion can be very bad trying to get old seed to germinate.

[saddad]

Yes, I know, the old bed was just to see.... actually got 6 eventually... the other bed had fresh seed but refused to germinate despite two sowings... That bed is looking quite full now.