Allotments 4 All

I like the loo roll work,,,it is far easier to stand in warm greenhouse. I do most of my veg in similar way, the less time I spend bending down the better...
and as it is me who do the cooking too, if I only peel just one or two veg that is benefit too...time is precious..
And "Robin"; yes, I do the shallow too, but it doesn't work..

If they stick in the pipes, try splitting them down the middle then tying or taping the two halves together. Then it just comes to pieces when you want to extract the parsnip.

Yes I must say this obsessing over parsnips puzzles me, I always get a good crop and I am probably the most hopeless gardener on this forum.  They are the LAST root crop I sow, never until at least end of April, once it is warm and sunny, water well till they come up then I just ignore them! OK a bit of a weed, but that's it. I never pull them up till they have almost no leaves left and I get big tasty parsnips!!!
I think they don't like cold ground ...

I have real problems getting the things to germinate, I don't know why. I remember my father insisting that they were always the first things to go in (most of us would disagree!), but he always got a good row.

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on March 09, 2010, 13:01:33
I have real problems getting the things to germinate, I don't know why. I remember my father insisting that they were always the first things to go in (most of us would disagree!), but he always got a good row.

reading all this about germanating parsnips and carrots in tubes and paper towels makes me think you are making a rod for your own backs.

Most of the seed gardeners use germinate best in the dark with constant moisture, how many times have you picked a length of wood off the garden and noticed it was damp under it.
So if you plant your seeds directly into the ground cover it with a length of wood about 3" wide and allow about 20 days for germination with parsnips carrots will be a lot less so you have to check from about 14 days depending on the warmth of the soil
Give it a try some time the simplest of methods are the best.

I hadn't thought of that. I usually cover them with 1/2 inch of soil, which should create darkness for them.

what compost do you use in the toilet roll tubes?  ???

I use multipurpose from B&Q which got an ok write up recently

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on March 09, 2010, 17:03:32
I hadn't thought of that. I usually cover them with 1/2 inch of soil, which should create darkness for them.

Far to much soil on top, a good guide is three times the thickness of the seed, the seed still has to be covered you put the wood on to maintain the moisture therefor not having to water every day

For those new to planting out the loo roll  it is an idea to wet the tube first otherwise when the dry card is planted it can act as a barrier. 

Agree about wetting the tube, but the other thing is not to let part of it stick up like a collar, as it dries out and continues to act as a barrier.

If the compost has sunk a bit, it is best to tear off this barrier, and bury the rest completely.