I have germinated some parsnip on kitchen towel. The seeds all have a little white tail. What do I do with them now? Should they be planted into their final place outdoors or should I put them into pots first?
Also, which way do I sow them? Tail down?
Sorry for the daft questions.
Jo.
QuoteShould they be planted into their final place outdoors or should I put them into pots first?
Also, which way do I sow them? Tail down?
Depends upon what you soil is like!
Personally I would pot them up one into root trainers or pots and grow on for a few weeks in a protected environment i.e frost free but not too warm.
Alternatively you could treat them as you would treat any seed sow them in a tray and lightly cover and when the emerge and form 'real leaves' prick them out, or if the ground has warmed up by then plant them into their final quarters.
Regarding the 'tail' just lay them flat and cover, the plant will determine what is up & down!
When planting outdoors form a 'V' trench and fill with fine compost prior to planting this will let them get off to a good start.
You've got to love him for his excellent advice!!!!
;D
I did this and sent a help plea last couple of week ago . They had well germinated.I tried to keep them in the paper but they wanted to go, We took them to the lottie and popped them in.Lost seeds I thought but we tucked them in with fleece.By Sunday they had greanery on them, now they are tiny plants. XX Jeannine
Never planted parsnips before so never germinated seeds on kitchen towel. Got seeds to plant this year. Do i need to germinate or straight in the ground? :-\
just popped 16 pre germinated seeds into rootrainers, the other 21 from last time are under fleece in the ground ;D
Thanks for all the advice.
I am having a go at growing the parsnips in containers. I should have mentioned this in my original post. Bearing this in mind, should I go for root-trainers or put them straight into the container. I can keep the container in the cold greenhouse for a while before it has to go outdoors.
Jo.
I'd go straight to the container...
;D
The kitchen roll thing didn't work for me as the paper kept drying out. What did everyone else do to keep it moist? Where did you put it?
Thanks for that. I will sow straight into the container then. Should I keep that in the cold greenhouse until they get established?
Rosyred, I lined a plastic tray with kitchen towel and put that inside a plastic bag to stop the kitchen towel from drying out. This then went on top of my boiler where it's nice and warm.
Jo.
in a grape tray, in a plastic bag, just transplanted 24 more, good germination this year, just got to get them to grow ;D
to prevent the kitchen towel drying out simply line a seed tray with the towel and tilt the tray to about 15 degrees this should form a reservoir of water at the bottom edge of the tray,top up as necessary thus preventing the towel from drying out then simply place the seed along the top edge of the towel and capillary action will draw the water up and keep them damp then when germination has taken place plant into root trainers or old loo rolls filled with compost but keep your eye on them because as soon as leaves appear you will find the root is almost out the end then plant
I bought tender and true [or somesuch] from real seeds, I planted two per loo roll & all have germinated - can't bare to cull any though. :)
can someone tell me how long it takes for the parsnip seeds to germinate got some on kitchen towel in my porch/lobby in a mini greenhouse
They are very erratic and temperature can play a large part in speed of germination.
I have never checked up on germinations times in this situation but I would expect them to germinate in about two weeks when sown outdoors in June.
Looks like patience is the order of the day!
I asked my plot neighbour guru about 'snips and he said I needed to get them in the ground by 1st March 'cos they take 5 weeks to germinate, and if they fail you've still got time to start again. I cautiously mentioned my plan of planting things in modules while getting the beds ready and got a lot of head shaking in reply! encouraged by the threads on here I'm hoping to pre-germinate, VERY carefully transplant into loo rolls or root trainers, then plant out and prove him wrong ;D
needless to say it'll probably end up with him being right and me being 'snipless ::)
I was holding back but in the end sowed straight into the ground about 3-4 together hoping I get some result. Still got another two rows to do but may do the kitchen towel chit for them, only problem is I can't get down to the lot this weekend.
After last year's disaster I'm not planting till the Easter holidays. Even then it's going to be under fleece.
Grew parsnips for the first time last year - and very successful they were. Didn't pre-germinate at all but did sow half in the way that TeeGee mentions (V-shaped compost filled trench) and the other half were sown in compost filled deep holes made using a biggish dibber 3 to each hole. Both versions germinated equally successfully and I had to thin out!
The bed was very well dug and prepared so that may have helped. Am not intending to sow in the next week or so as it is bitterly cold here in central Scotland :(