Kitchen Garden Forum

I am resolved this year to try and use up some of my many half-used seed packets and have parsnip seed more two years old. Despite the advice it should be sown fresh every year I have often sown this seed more than a year old with reasonable success and wonder what is the oldest seed anybody has sown & got it to germinate.

I tried a similar experiment one year Primrose. I think and near as I can remember most of mine were up to 5 years old. Peas and and beans might have been older. I had good sucess with most. As long as you sow in time resow if they don't germinate. Parsnips are always difficult but what have you to loose? Why waste them.

Beryl.

Dear Primrose,
parsnip seed of unknown viability can be tested (if there is enough) by germinating some in a seed tray. Count out a given number of seeds, not forgetting to write how many on the label, then sow as normal for the seeds in question. Then you can work out the germination rate.
If you do this now you will have an idea of whether the parsnip seeds will grow when you want to sow them outdoors. If none come up within a month then the seeds are dud and should be thrown out.
Personally I might chance a second year out of the same packet of opened parsnip seeds but not a third. Parsnip seed is relatively inexpensive in comparison to other seeds and it is not worth the risk of being without them because you have had to replant and the subsequent crop is smaller than hoped.
Regards Sally Wright.

Sally - thanks, I'll try this tip and get some germinating now on the kitchen window sill. Then at least I won't waste valuable time when the weather gets warmer waiting to see if they germinate or not. I always find this a bit of a problem because often if some seeds don't germinate first time round it can throw out some of your succession sowing - not that I've got much space for this in my small vegetable plot.

From memory, isn't this where JohnBoy recommends the damp kitchen paper termination test?

That sounds dangerous Peter!

Peter, Johnboy doesn't just recommend the damp kitchen paper test, he recommends sowing the seeds there until they germinate and then transfer them to a growing medium (I am sure his method can be found in the archives of this site). Until a few years ago, my parsnip growing was always scuppered at the seed stage but since using the "Johnboy method" I have had no problems at all, so I can thoroughly recommend it.

And, Primrose, I would use NEW parsnip seed!

peter wrote:From memory, isn't this where JohnBoy recommends the damp kitchen paper termination test?

Oooer, sounds merciless to me

VPM
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P.S. Will be trying the kitchen towel germination method this year as last years success from direct sowing was only moderate. Also defo' NEW parsnip seed for me.

A friend took over a shop which had been closed for many years. In the shop was a Carters seed stand full of seeds, both veg and flowers, packed year ending 30.6.93 with a sow by date of 1/96.
He put them all into a plastic bag and gave them to me.
Over the past three years I've had reasonable success with them, but only using them as a "nothing lost if they don't germinate" crop and once opened the remains of that packet is discarded.
My important veg seeds I buy new and certainly parsnips I wouldn't chance.

Regards, Gerry.

I always chit my parsnip seed on damp kitchen paper. Last year my first batch (Gladiator) was 2 year old seed, and this produced about a 90-95% germination rate. When the chitted seeds were potted on into toilet-roll tubes of compost about 95%+ of these grew into healthy seedlings. This was by no means the first time I have used this method with 2 or 3 year old parsnip seeds, almost always with a high germination rate. I believe that the whole idea that parsnip seed has to be fresh every year is a bit of a perpetuated myth.
It is certainly worth trying this method with an early batch as the seeds only take about 10 - 14 days to sprout in a cold greenhouse, leaving plenty of time to make a further sowing (chitting) using new seed if batch 1 fails.
Incidentally, I store all my unused seeds in the fridge. I don't know how much this may improve their keeping quality.

There was a method recommeneded by Geoff Hamilton I think, of chitting seed then "sowing" them mixed with wallpaper paste from a piping bag. Modern pastes have fungicides etc in them though, which may be an issue.

Now as well as germination of old seed, there is the question of how well it grows on if it does germinate - I thought I remembed someone suggesting that this too was compromised, so better to use fresh seed - I thought it might have been advice from Johnboy, but I'm not sure so hope he'll correct me if I'm wrong ?

In response to the suggestion that growing on from old seed may be compromised, this season's parsnips were chitted as 2 batches; the first from old seed and the 2nd from new. On harvesting I can see no discernable difference in crops from the 2 different batches.

Hi Tony,
You are correct Tony. Certainly the moist kitchen paper will prove that the seed will germinate. There are however certain conditions which, although germination will take place, the resulting plant is very retarded and fails to grow on properly.
JB.

So if I understood everything correctly:

Old seed may well give a high percentage germination on kitchen towel but the end result may well be stunted and unusable ; and so for best results

Use fresh seed every year;
Germinate on damp kitchen towel;
Pot up into compost filled loo roll tubes or (if like mine, your other half has a thing about old loo roll tubes and germs ) deep root seedling cell thingys; until
Ready to plant seedling into final growing position?

Ok. Got it....... I think

VPM
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