chitting parsnips in paper straws

[Ken the Chef]

I have chitted my parsnips this year by dropping a seed into news paper straws. I made about 20 and stood them in a glass of water until the paper was saturated - then I dropped a seed into each one and put the glass in a plastic bag. Hey presto I have plenty of nice parsnip plants ready to drop into a deep hole to be back filled like leeks by watering in and making up the soil level to suit plants.

[Fleurisa]

Can you post a photo of your 'straws' so I can see how long and wide they are. Do you fold the bottom end over to close it?

[Kristen]

And I thought I went in for a lot of faff!!

I just chuck mine on some damp kitchen paper in a sealed Tupperware box. They take about a fortnight to chit, although this year's batch look like they are going mouldy - but I am chancing my arm as the seed is 2 year's old, and Parsnips have one of the shortest viability periods for their seed ...

I think I need to go-again on this one ... I have some seed that is only one year old ... I'm too flipping mean to go out and buy this year's seed at FULL PRICE !!!!

[Jardiniere]

i hate it when they dont germinate ...so do buy new seeds each year - willing to try any method. Got 4 plants last year out of a WHOLE NEW PACKET.

[Kristen]

willing to try any method.

OK

I germinate on damp kitchen paper, in a Tupperware box (if left "open" to the air then the paper towel dries out)

When they chit, and the root appears, I prick them out. Bit fiddly.

I make newspaper pots by rolling a sheet of newspaper around an aerosol can. This gives me a narrow (2"-ish diameter) "pot" which is about 4" tall - which I think gives more room for tap root than, say, Loo rolls.

I fill those with multi purpose compost, and stand them in a gravel tray. (I use a 2' square gravel tray, which holds about 50, but beware that is very heavy to lift, particularly when the compost / pots have been watered).

I just make a small depression in the compost in each pot - e.g. with the rubber on the end of a pencil - and then drop one chitted seed in and just push a little compost over to cover it.

I start hardening off after one week. I don't leave them out in heavy rain. If using a gravel tray (no drainage holes) make sure the pots are not watered so much that they sit in water. The newspaper holds together surprisingly well - but not if it is sitting in water

As soon as the seed leaves are up they need planting. Once the first true leaf appears the tap root will be reaching the bottom of the paper pots, and that is likely to cause the root to fork, so I like to get them planted before then. There is about 3 weeks from seed leaves showing above soil to first true leaf, so best to get them planted within, say, a week of the seed leaves appearing.

I use a bulb planter - its a bit wider than the newspaper pots. You can ram a metal bar into the holes to make them deeper, and fill with very fine / sandy compost if you like - I don't bother - some of mine go down properly, and then become a nightmare to dig out of my clay soil! others form 6" or a bit more of good root and then all-sorts below that, for me that is enough 'Snip to cut up for Sunday roast but it wouldn't win any prizes ...

Tear off any newspaper sticking out above the soil, after planting, otherwise it will act as a wick and dry out the newspaper underground.

How I make newspaper pots:
How to Make Pots from Newspaper | K's Garden

Whenever I post this people usually tell me how easily they grow Parsnips, sowing direct into the ground / station sowing etc. I have very heavy clay soil and have only just, in the last week, been able to get onto my ground to work it for Spring crops. Although we had a really wet Winter this year we have had no rain for a month - so in a normal, wetter, Spring I would be lucky to be getting onto the ground at all as early as this ... so all my crops are pot-raised and planted out, which buys me the time I need for the ground to be ready for planting, thus I don't sow anything direct.

[Kristen]

P.S. I did sow the seeds direct into the newspaper pots one year - and then nipped off all-but-one before planting. However ... some of the seeds germinated late, and I got deadly-embrace pairs of Parsnips! so if you go down that route make sure to re-check for "Twins" long after planting out.



Here's what my Parsnip bed looked like a year or two back - all nicely spaced, no gaps etc