Parsnip germination

[Emmylou]

Hi, I know parsnips take a long time to germinate. I planted my seeds (fresh this year, avonresister ) on 19th and 24th of April. There is no sign of any parsnip seedlings yet. Some radish i interplanted are nicely through. When should I give up on them??! Maybe I need more patience

[Edwardo82]

Hi there,

I would definitely wait a bit longer, I sowed my seeds about 6 weeks ago and they have only just really emerged. Give them some more time I say and I am sure you will start to see some action soon.

All the best

[sternyboy]

I sowed my parsnips on Good Friday (whatever date that was) and they have only came up in the last week or so

[allotmentlady]

speed germination process up by this.......dampen kitchen paper, place seeds on kitchen paper....dampen another and place on top. carefully move to a warm airing cupboard and germination takes about 10 days, transfer to ground with tweezers, always worked for me!"

[Emmylou]

speed germination process up by this.......dampen kitchen paper, place seeds on kitchen paper....dampen another and place on top. carefully move to a warm airing cupboard and germination takes about 10 days, transfer to ground with tweezers, always worked for me!"

I'll try that next year! Is it too late to sow more do you think?

[zazen999]

If you have spare seeds, then try the kitchen roll method as they won't be any good for next year. Snoops are notorious for losing viability.

I sowed some into jiffy 7s and they went into pots. The rest have gone into a prepared bed at the lottie, and I have weeded it several times waiting for the snoops to emerge. But, they will eventually. I still have a spare packet, so thinking of where else to sow them - I'l possibly put them in the ground once the first spuds are up, inbetween some leeks.

[Emmylou]

speed germination process up by this.......dampen kitchen paper, place seeds on kitchen paper....dampen another and place on top. carefully move to a warm airing cupboard and germination takes about 10 days, transfer to ground with tweezers, always worked for me!"

May be a daft question, but do you put the paper into a polybag or something?

[Two_Sheds]

I have my parsnips germinating on damp kitchen towel, on a plate, covered with clingfilm.

Germinated within a week.

[Emmylou]

I have my parsnips germinating on damp kitchen towel, on a plate, covered with clingfilm.

Germinated within a week.

thanks! I'll have a go.

[HeyWayne]

I sowed some in loo rolls on Sunday, then placed them in a heated propagator. Worked for me last year having failed miserably the year before trying to sow them into pots in the greenhouse.

[Kittypickle]

I got mine going in an old takeaway container and some wet tissue having read about it on here. Big success, nearly all germinated within a week. Half then went into toilet rolls in mini green house and half went directly into the ground. The ones that went directly in are very slightly bigger and I found that the roots came out the bottom of the loo rolls much quicker than the green on the top, so I think next year I will just put the whole lot straight out after germination.

[Snadger]

Sorry to hijack the thread (I'm NOT really!) but has anyone tred transplanting direct sowed parsnips to good effect?

Mine are ready for thinning and I have quite a few gaps!

I'm going to give it a go anyway, just wondered..............

[Edwardo82]

Mine are ready for thinning as well Snadger, also with a fair few gaps in the rows.

I hope that they wont mind me thinning them out and moving them about but we will see.

Good luck mate!

[Emmylou]

I did try transplanting a few thinnings last year, but the snip never really came to much! Not very big and generally roundish and lots of forked roots. Not going to bother this year, sowed two seeds every 3" or so (thats if they come, which is where I started this thread in the first place!). I've got some on wet kitchen towel now, and after what Kittypickle has just said, will put them straight out!

Having said all that, if I had gaps I'd probably fill them anyway! :0)

[zazen999]

Parsnips

I am in the middle of a City and Guilds in Gardening, and the advice for parsnips is as follows:

Conditions:

pH 6.5
Soil should be sandy or silty
Get soil to a fine tilth
Remove all stones
Do not add Organic or Manure prior to sowing.

Sow mid to late spring
Sow seeds 2cm deep
Sow seeds 10cm apart, or thin to 10cm apart
Rows should be 30cm apart
Harvest from late summer through to winter
You can pull them and store them in a clamp or in damp sand.

We have so many threads on parsnips; and so much alternative advice and suggestions; I just thought I'd share the 'official' RHS advice on the topic.

I do the former, but scatter into a bed rather than rows; and my clay soil still produces fabulous parsnips; the difficulty is getting them out when the clay is wet.

Lets get a good thread running on how to grow the perfect parsnip - so that as we are munching on them over the festive period we can all plan our parsnip attack for 2010.

Anyone else?