Chitting parsnips

[Incy]

Hi all,
I've seen plenty of threads where peeps have said they chit their parsnip seeds before planting and I know that once chitted they needed to be planted out pretty quick.
I want to try this method this year as we now have an allotment so I'm able to devote a lot more space to parsnips but I also want to make sure it's not wasted through poor germination etc.
Could anyone advise me on how long the seeds are likely to take to chit.
I'm going away for a few days this weekend and may well be going away again in a couple of weeks time for a week so I don't want to start them and then miss the critical point.
Many thanks
Incy

[Aberdeenplotter]

The following extracted from the members forum on the NVS site.

"If you put a layer of wet kitchen roll on a dish, then sprinkle your seeds on this and then cover with another bit of wet kitchen towel then keep them somewhere warm, i put mine on top of the fridge. Make sure the kitchen roll is kept wet and after 3 days start looking to see if you can see the root starting to pop through the seed case."

[Incy]

Thanks Aberdeenplotter. I'd best wait till we get back on Monday then

[ginger ninger]

I put them in a resealable plastic bag with dam compost then in a nice warm place. Takes about 4 days in my airing cupboard. I think it was Zazen & Jeanied who mentioned that was how they got there's to germinate.

[gojiberry]

Have tried chitting in the past but had difficulty in extracting the chitted seed from the kitchen roll and that was checking once every day. Sow mine into loo rolls and have no problem with germination.

Ian

[King Carrot]

Have tried chitting in the past but had difficulty in extracting the chitted seed from the kitchen roll and that was checking once every day. Sow mine into loo rolls and have no problem with germination.

Ian

The trick is to catch the seed as soon as the root appears - I use paper towel in a plastic butter container and then put the container in an cool/unheated room (parsnips don't need warmth to germinate), it takes around a week for germination and by checking everyday you can catch the seeds just as they open. If they're somewhere too warm the root will grow long very quickly and will become fragile and difficult to handle.

[Alison]

Is still very early to be starting off parsnips as even when they've germinated they'll have to survive OK outside. I find it far easier to sow direct at the end of March / early April as chitting is too much of a phaff for me

[Shadylane]

As Alison said, I would wait until March at the earliest, especially if you're pre-chitting. The first year I grew them I sowed direct around early March, they took around six weeks to show above soil, so if you're pre-chitting they already have a head start. I read somewhere if you start them too early they can be more susceptible to canker. Mine certainly were very cankery. That said if you leave them until later and you have a dry spell (like we did last year) you may get poor germination - unless of course you remember to water.

[Florence Fennel]

I tried this last year, but ended up sowing a new packet straight into the ground. The seeds in the damp in the sandwich box just smelled peculiar, no sign of growth! Reading this, I suppose they could have been too warm in the airing cupboard.

[Dottie]

Is still very early to be starting off parsnips as even when they've germinated they'll have to survive OK outside. I find it far easier to sow direct at the end of March / early April as chitting is too much of a phaff for me

Yep I sow direct too, although if my seeds are not fresh (as in bought this year), then I sow 2 or 3 together. Often folk do that anyway, but I usually only sow 1, as I've had success every year. Not because I'm a expert parsnips grower, just because I sow them and they grow. The only change I've made since my first ever sowing, is that I now sow seeds closer together than the packet states, as I don't like the gaint parsnips that have grown if I give them more space.

[Incy]

I've always sown direct in the past and the germination rate has not been great although they do seem to germinate at regular distances thus giving me few but large parsnips. The reason I want to try the pre-chitting method is to avoid big gaps in a bed at the lottie.
Thanks for the advice to leave it a while though. I usually sow in February but if as you say, chitting gives them a head start, it won't hurt to wait a month.

[scarletrunner]

If difficult to remove seed from kitchen paper,tare the paper around the seed and plant that as well.

[Two_Sheds]

I don't sow them until April - they don't like cold wet soil

[Bren In Pots]

. The reason I want to try the pre-chitting method is to avoid big gaps in a bed at the lottie.

I grow in my garden so space is at a premium, I sow in loo roll tubes usually it's 4 or 5 seeds in each roll snipping them down to one seedling later on.

[sarahspatch]

I'm feeling extremely jealous right now.....i have tried growing parsnips for the last 3-4 years with zero success!
I tried pre-chitting but there was no sign of life once in the ground.
After reading what gojiberri and bren said about sowing in loo rolls, I think I'll try that this year...I won't give up!!
At what stage do you plant them out and when?