Would anybody like 8 million young parsnips?
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter
On the point of giving up planting parsnips because of the poor rate of germination, I have since changed my mind after having watched what happened when I allowed one successfully sown plant to go to seed. Around October time, the seed begins to be distributed around the neighbouring area and millions of tiny parnships start sprouting all around. Now, some of these, in turn, go to seed in the new year, but the vast majority do not and grow on so that you can eat them. My resowing is simply now limited to allowing subsequent parsnips to go to seed and seeing where the wind eventually takes the seed. Autumn sowing of parsnips is nevertheless fraut with danger because you lose quite a lot to seed in the spring, but those that grow on are ok. Not all of them start growing where you would like them to, but by uprooting the seeding plant and scattering the seed more or less where you want it to grow you do get results. Compare this to making a drill, making sure its moist enough then sowing the seeds from a packet. My way is messier, but infinitely more fun and I get much higher germination rates!!
Thanks Barry,
I too, like many growers have found parsnip almost impossible to grow, but know that they selfseed easily. I have always wondered what would happen if you sowed the fresh seeds in the Autumn, and have always assumed that they would run to seed the next year.
I will plant up some shop bought parsnip and let them go to seed and see what happens....but I'll have to wait until 2008 before I get anything to eat
I too, like many growers have found parsnip almost impossible to grow, but know that they selfseed easily. I have always wondered what would happen if you sowed the fresh seeds in the Autumn, and have always assumed that they would run to seed the next year.
I will plant up some shop bought parsnip and let them go to seed and see what happens....but I'll have to wait until 2008 before I get anything to eat
I don't suffer from insanity .... I enjoy it!
Vivianne
Vivianne
just a couple of thoughts...
viv , you only need one plant to go to seed, it will produce a lot of seeds,
having watched gardeners world last night where they were planting a native hedge from seed , which needed sowing outdoors now so the seeds got frosted to break their dormancy are parsnips the same? if they are allowed to self seed they get the effects of the winters cold wheras collected and stored indoors they wont get frozen, i store all my seeds on a north windowsil of an unheated porch and get good germination with packet parsnip seed , even a couple of years old, maybe fresh seed bought from a heated shop has never got cold enough?
viv , you only need one plant to go to seed, it will produce a lot of seeds,
having watched gardeners world last night where they were planting a native hedge from seed , which needed sowing outdoors now so the seeds got frosted to break their dormancy are parsnips the same? if they are allowed to self seed they get the effects of the winters cold wheras collected and stored indoors they wont get frozen, i store all my seeds on a north windowsil of an unheated porch and get good germination with packet parsnip seed , even a couple of years old, maybe fresh seed bought from a heated shop has never got cold enough?
Hi Barry,
Although Parsnips will germinate at a quite low temperature in order to do so it needs several other things to be favourable as well. Although it is said that you should sow seed in February but here they do not like the conditions but sown in Mid-March they germinate very well. The conditions of Mid-March and November are very similar and of course you could not have fresher seed and I feel Richard raises a very valid point in the temperature that they are stored at. I would not buy Parsnips seed from anywhere except direct from a seed company.
I find that if you sow them for a second year then although you will get a certain amount to germinate it is nowhere near that of the previous year.
All my seeds are stored in containers with Silica Gel capsules and are kept in the Old Dairy which it situated at the northern corner of my property which never gets the sun and has two foot stone walls and the temperature in there on the hottest of hot summer days is chilly. I go in there to cool off.
JB.
Although Parsnips will germinate at a quite low temperature in order to do so it needs several other things to be favourable as well. Although it is said that you should sow seed in February but here they do not like the conditions but sown in Mid-March they germinate very well. The conditions of Mid-March and November are very similar and of course you could not have fresher seed and I feel Richard raises a very valid point in the temperature that they are stored at. I would not buy Parsnips seed from anywhere except direct from a seed company.
I find that if you sow them for a second year then although you will get a certain amount to germinate it is nowhere near that of the previous year.
All my seeds are stored in containers with Silica Gel capsules and are kept in the Old Dairy which it situated at the northern corner of my property which never gets the sun and has two foot stone walls and the temperature in there on the hottest of hot summer days is chilly. I go in there to cool off.
JB.