Allotments 4 All

Are you sowing yet, I normally start in February but the soil is very damp.

last week in march for me singly sown 4" apart water the drill with tepid water before sowing cover with fleece 5/8 days time 99% germination   no thinning required works on all varieties ive tried hope this helps

Sounds good, can you be more precise about tepid.  Water on allotment either from tap which is cold, or from butt. which is warmer in the afternoon.

Quote from: Digeroo on March 07, 2017, 17:48:28
Sounds good, can you be more precise about tepid.  Water on allotment either from tap which is cold, or from butt. which is warmer in the afternoon.

i boil a kettle pour that in a 10ltr watering can fill with waterbutt water and thats about it

Far too soggy on my plot to sow anything yet, besides I've still got half last years snips and carrots in, apart from early potatoes I don't put anything in the ground till April, I reckon stuff catches up. Having said that, I see today that my asparagus is up and growing!

I get much better germination and crops by sowing in late April when the temperatures are a bit warmer.

Mine were sown on tuesday this week. I always use the plank method in order to protect the seedlings from soil crusting or drying out. The ground forked up nicely and weed seedlings are just beginning to appear so the soil temperature should be ok for parsnip.

Sown thickly in five seven foot rows nine or ten inches apart. If they germinate I shall thin them to seven or eight inches to give a bed of around fifty parsnips.

I had no parsnips at all last year after sowing them in april and again later after the first batch didn't germinate. It could be that they dried out in the april sun. Or the seeds could have been duds.

In the past I have had good results from a February sowing before moving to early march. I have even sown then with frost still in the ground and they came up just fine..

What is the plank method please ?

You sow the parsnip seeds in drills as normal immediately laying long pieces of wood or planks laid on the soil over the rows of seeds. After two weeks you begin checking under the planks for germination removing the planks as the rows germinate.

The plank method protects the soil and germinating seeds from heavy rain causing the soil to crust. It also protects the paper like seeds from drying out in strong sunlight. I have experienced both of these.

There are a number of ways to germinate parsnips. The plank method works for me.

Ah interesting. I don't have a problem with parsnips but do with carrots so will try that on them

I chit the seeds on damp kitchen towel pot up into half toilet rolls then out onto plot in April .

I will be growing Lancer using the normal seeds and Gladiator using pelleted seeds. I used pelleted seeds for the first time last year and had 100% success. I chit the normal seeds on damp kitchen towel but I tend to get a fair share of miss shaped ones hence I have gone onto pelleted seeds. I will not be setting until May as I believe that the ground is too cold and by setting in March the parsnips get too big. A farmer near where I live has grown several fields of parsnips last year and he is still getting them up . They are just the right size and he did not set until May.

Not sowing yet but when I do, will use the compost cone method. Drive a stick or dibber into the soil to 6 or 8 inches then rotate to form a cone shaped hole.  Fill the hole with compost and sow three seeds to each cone. On germination, retain the strongest. Last year 100% germinationa nd second prize at the Flower Show. Would have been first but too big to lift undamaged. 

QuoteWould have been first but too big to lift undamaged.

Which method did you use to lift it?

Some growers use a pressure hose to blast the soil away from around them

Inexperienced Granny went straight for the fork lift but the crop had grown down into the solid clay subsoil. A pressure hose would have been much more advisable. This year, eh?

Using a fork lift , that must have been a huge parsnip! ,

I was thinking of trying some in the polytunnel this year so I can keep a closer eye on hem as terrible failure last year. They are so delicious roasted!
Goes away to plan! X sunloving

I have got some sow now.  But it my great frustration there are self sown parsnips coming up and they have chosen the path.  Hundred of them!!  So obviously not too cold.  I am very frustrated.

Bunging mine in this morning, plus carrots, beet, turnips and radish. All the spring weeds are showing and yesterday I must have dug up loads of tiny spuds that had started shooting some with leaves above ground when I was getting the seed bed ready.

nice soil tilth down here in somerset, obviously my raised beds are a better and hopefully deeper crumbly texture than the surrounding soil, which is solid clay but is getting better by the year. I keep the  beds covered until I sow anything in spring and have recently been raking and some rock dust and nourishment when needed. Certain seeds were sown the last two days but am waiting another week for parsnips, probably the same time as I will be transplanting my broad beans (sutton). Had a really good manageable crop of parsnips last year and was able to dig them out, vulcan, not too big. First year on the allotment I grew gladiator, they were impossible. Devil and deep blue sea, either too cold and wet or far too dry

Put some in direct today, have some sown in peat pots from last week, but not showing yet, next week if we are lucky...