Please help!!!
I just cant get parsnips to germinate!!!
Any tips please
I think that it may be a bit early for them. I would leave it later
last year i sowed every four or five weeks used 6 packets of seed and ended up with 7 parsnips
Yes :) don`t be impatient-books etc will say plant far too early-wait until your soil is ready.
Always use fresh seed and sow say three seeds every four inches and thin out.
Now some will say sow radishes as well to mark the seed line-and that`s fine but only sow the radish thinly cos your parsnips will not appreciate the root disturbance when you pull the radishes.
And OK the pre germinating on paper-never tried it but have read it works for others
last year i sowed every four or five weeks used 6 packets of seed and ended up with 7 parsnips
Welcome btw-stick around and we will see what we can do
Don't panic and don't take to much notice as to what the packet says. Parsnips are slow to germinate in cool soil the best way I found to test the soil is to sick my finger into the ground and if it feel pleasantly warmish then sow the seed. I usually wait until April for good results
John, last year was not a good year for parsnips, I had the same trouble as did a few people on here, there are a few threads on here about it.
Hoping for a better year this year!
Hi John,
Last year was a poor year for germination, for many. Even worse, for me, was 2005.
Tried - last year the loo roll approach. It was slow/painful & only a 30% success rate. Did get a few 'straight' results though.
Signs of the times perhaps?
i put 20 or so seeds on wet kitchen paper 2 weeks ago... 1 has germinated - i'm using heritage seeds - student. hope the others get going soon!
OO,
It's going to be very early to plant yet.
The soil temp. has to be good.
I think, for you, at least April?
I was gonna put them in tubs at home covered but at this rate i think not.
I'm so crap at seeds... jsut as ss.
I prefer chucking them in the ground and getting on with it. cant deal with pampering plants and seeds - i just kill them.
You wouldnt believe i used to work at Nickerson Seeds in plant research would you! LOL
I had similarly disappointing results last year.... but a new start, ever hopeful!
;D
We grew parsnips for the first time last year. I had run out of space, so I couldn't sow them until May (in the ground), and we've had a great crop. This year I'll sow them at the right time in March (I suppose) - maybe I'll end up with nothing
The only ones I've ever managed to grow I sowed really late so perhaps that's the answer though I'm saving loo rolls to try that.
Quote from: OliveOil on February 14, 2007, 21:57:03
.....i'm using heritage seeds - student. ....
Strangely, the EU rules on vegetable varieties having to be registered (hence the small number of them currentl available) don't apply to parsnips. The reason being that the French don't recognise them as vegetables - they are officially (in Europe) fodder so old varieties like Student, Hollow Crown and so are still available commercially alongside the modern canker resistant and F1 varieties.
Phil
I didn't plant till April last year (having given up on early parsnip plantings), and ended up with half a dozen parsnips, despite a second planting in May. This year I'll be planting under fleece, and chitting first.
Last year, the seeds I put in airing cupboard to chit first took a very long time to germinate. Every time I found a root emerging, I put that seed into a gutter in a frost free room, and over time (several weeks) I had a gutter full of seedlings. I am afraid I failed the next stage (to plant them out in the allotment) as I never did it.....
I found it very interesting to watch the airing cupboard ones (scattered on a damp cloth inside a plastic bag). After a couple of weeks, there would be a newly germinated one or two each day. No wonder we find it so frustrating to sow them in the open when even in warm, damp, ideal conditions the seeds were so slow to react.
I intend to do the same thing this year, but to follow it through properly this time....
As above, the soil needs to warm up, last year we had a very good first year and we've still got plenty in the ground and in the freezer, just beginners luck I suppose. This was the way we did it, dig out a small trench fill it with multipurpose compost, finger 1/2 inch deep drop in seeds sprinkle compost in the holes and dampen. My mate being a builder wanted a smooth finish so he smoothed the compost like he was screening a floor, I did take the piss but who had the last laugh, as I said theres still about 30 in the ground and we gave loads away. ;D ;D ;D
This is an interesting topic. Parsnips have really confused me. I grew them 5 years ago in a very deep box,they grew enormous and I was really proud of them and remember commenting on how easy they were.........oops. Since then I have had no success worth a light. I have used the same type.. other types...and last year 3 types but no luck.I have racked my brains to figure out why and the only difference I can come up with is that the first year I sowed ones which were on paper tape which I bought by accident. I just laid the tape down. covered it with soil and forgot them. XX Jeannine
First time allotmenter and got parsnips after two attempts last year. Would you grow them on the same soil or somewhere else this year? If they can be a bit temprmental.
Hi
I am planting parsnips for the first time this year and am planting
Parsnip - AvonResister
Parsnip - Merlin F1
Parsnip - White Gem
I plan on putting them into a raised bed (6 inches) which is filled with compost, horsemanure dug into the heavy clay. And i plan on adding bonemeal as a top dressing.
I am going to attempt to grow 1/2 on home made seed tape and 1/2 free sown directly into the place they will be.
Cambourne7
Sorry guys,
I had the best year ever for parsnips last year. We are sill eating them now and they taste fantastic. I am actually going to have to make a large consignement of parsnip soup to use them up!!
I plant them in a different place each year, take them out of the packet and put them into the warm earth, not for another month or so yet. Then I just wait, nothing more. I buy gladiator and have never had any germination problems, although I do know a professional gardiner who buys his ready germinated.
It's quite cold at the moment, so i'd give them some time. Fingers crossed for some nice sunshine soon ;D
Hi all, :)
Last year I planted two 3 row blocks of parsnips side by side - one block of old seed and one of newly bought seed. None of the old seed germinated. They were in the same patch of soil under the same conditions.
I just harvested the last of the parsnips from the new seed and have them stored in a big bucket of earth in my shed.
Col
(I plant most things in blocks of three rows because thats how far I can reach standing in the middle and also cover with one width of fleece, net etc if I need to)
Parsnips are about the only crop as far as I know where they advise you not to use old seed. :'( :D :D :D ;D
They're only temperamental in the early stages, fortunately. Germination is slow, and if it's cold and damp the seed rots. A neighbour of mine swears by sorwing in February, and his plot is colder than mine. I don't dare plant before April, and even that didn't work last year. Then they need moisture while they get established. Once they've reached a reasonable size, the root goes so deep that it'll find water whatever happens. Only a very few of mine germinated last year, but despite the drought, and getting no watering at all, some of the few are massive.
I have had mixed success with parsnips over the last few years. I now use a technique that gives reasonable success. However, I would not even consider sowing until April.
I buy cheap multi-purpose compost. I mark out a shallow trench and fill it with this compost. I then sow the seed into the compost and cover it with a little more compost. I think this helps in 2 ways. I expect the compost will heat up a little more than my heavy clay. Furthermore, when the clay dries it forms a hard crust, which I think makes it difficult for the seedlings to reach the surface. The compost prevents this happening. I have used this technique for parsnips, carrots and turnips with good success.
Thomas
Thomas,
My next door neighbour on the plot does this - with great success
He's an OAP so I he visits the plot each day and waters when the compost shows signs of drying out
Phil
I thought I said that, I'll have to check the previous page. ;D ;D ;D