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I know it is recommended that root veg be sow where they are to grow but with parsnip germination being difficult I was wondering if anybody has started them off in modules and trans planted with any success.
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johntheeng -
I did them in loo rolls last year in the greenhouse. Best germination and crop I've had so far.
Just make sure you use fresh/in-date seed. -
Loo rolls and root trainers are better than modules. You'll be surprised how long the main root will grow after germination. You can just see a little green shoot on top and already there's 6" of taproot that you will disturb when you plant them out. This means your parsnips will fork in the ground - not a happy sight - unless you are aiming for Rudest Vegetable awards!Whoever plants a garden believes in the future.
www.vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated March 9th - SpringComment
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TwoSheds starts them off in loo rolls. You have to be pretty prompt transplanting though.Comment
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I usually use the loo roll method too and I have had great success. Thanks to advice found on here I have never tried to sow straight into the garden - however...
I have just found that some of the stray seeds from a plant I let bolt last year have actually germinated and are looking quite healthy. I mean, wot's that all about.A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot! (Thomas Edward Brown)
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I think after reading this I'll be up for trying loo rolls. I have a huge collection growing already for next spring as started other seeds in them this year and found they worked well. This will be first year for parsnips .S*d the housework I have a lottie to dig
a batch of jam is always an act of creation ..Christine Ferber
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If your feeling lucky enough to grow long parsnips, use kitchen roll inners.Originally posted by binley100 View Postsigpic“Gorillas are very intelligent, but they don't have to be as delicate as chimps -- they can just smash open the termite nest,”
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I can't believe you're growing them already....won't they fork before you have chance to plant them out? The root grows down very fast once germinated!Comment
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My thoughts exactly bm - I wasn't going to even consider it until next spring.Whooops - now what are the dogs getting up to?Comment
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I didn't think anybody was growing them already (apart from the self seeded ones), thought it was just a thread about how to......
Personally I don't find them difficult to germinate by direct sowing, they just take a long time so you have to be patient. I find I have enough other things in modules / root trainers / loo rolls without having to add anything else to it. Suggest that if people haven't tried them direct before that they try next year and see what happens. If you're unsure then maybe do some loo rolls too so that you have back up, you may find out that you are just making hard work for yourself.
Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.
Which one are you and is it how you want to be?Comment
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It's only my collection of loo roll middles thats growing at the moment ...oh and my collection of packets of seeds ready for the spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!S*d the housework I have a lottie to dig
a batch of jam is always an act of creation ..Christine Ferber
You can't beat a bit of garden pornComment
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yeah just start them off in loo rolls, and use the trusty morrisons buckets to put the loo rolls in so they have plenty of depth.
I use my old grow bags to fill up the buckets and some better stuff on top and in the loo rolls.
With a bit of luck you will have an early crop !
JJComment
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I agree with Alison, they're not hard to germinate just take ages and if you don't know what they look like you could end up 'weeding' them. An alternative to loo rolls is pre-chitting them on damp kitchen roll sealed in clear plastic ie plastic tub or bag. Then you can pop them in the ground as soon as they sprout.
Having said all that our lottie neighbours had very few come up and had to re-sow. They put theirs in a month later than me, saying that March was too early. Odd cause most of mine came up and theirs didn't. I'm sure I remember Two Sheds saying that her earlier sown ones had done beter than later sown also so maybe there is something in this(?)Comment
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I had 100% fail rate with germination this year
using the wet kitchen paper in a plastic tub method.
Luckily a friend (who hates parsnips
) gave me a packet of pre-germinated seed which I sowed in loo-roll tubes - 100% success - haven't pulled any up yet ....
Last edited by Glutton4...; 20-11-2009, 09:20 AM. All the best - Glutton 4 Punishment
Freelance shrub butcher and weed removal operative.Comment
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This year I used both the tube and pre-chitting methods and found the tubes were a big failure. The reason was that the seedlings, once they touched the cardboard had their moisture lterally drained away - they looked like they had damped off.
So I pregerminated a batch of seeds on moist paper and then transplanted them on to the patch, placing 3 seedlings per station into a shallow trench which I 'lined' with John Innes #1. They are easily the biggest and tastiest Parsnips I've ever been able to grow (and not badly forked either)Artificial Intelligence usually beats real stupidity
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