we have been told for years that u cant transplant parsnips, a lot of us have got round this by planting in toilet rolls. Last year i planted some in a one gallon ice cream container and transplanted at the same time as the toilet rolls. they produced turnip like ball shaped roots with several small conical roots off that, not the traditional parsnip shape but still edible.
we are also told that parsnip seed must be fresh ie old seed wont grow. having just planted 50 seeds i,m wondering what to do with the other 250 in the packet, it was 79p so am reluctant to throw most of it away (just remembered it was buy 1 get 1 free at wilkinsons, but i dont like waste) . Anyway the packet says sow before 2008. So is the must use fresh seed just an old wives tale?.
i had a root round and found last years packet, same variety, same supplier, so planted some of them in a second container. so will see how the germination differs in a few weeks
parsnip fables ?
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Hi Richard,
I must say that in just about everything you try and buck sound advice. Just as an experiment I have myself tried to germinate old seed and the last ones were a packet of Countess F1 just a year old but not in a hermatically sealed packet. The result was 3 out of 200 and they were automatically scrapped by me.
I bought fresh seed of the same variety and got almost 100% germination.
May I suggest you try and form a seed share with somebody or more people then when yours have germinated you pass them on and hopefully receive something you have not already bought.
The seeds thay you bought were probably in a foil packet hermatically seed but once you have opened them they should be used that year but would last in the foil if unopened until the year the vendor suggests.
I really don't see much advantage of growing mis-shapen, awkward to dig, awkward to handle and almost impossible to store Parsnips.
If you were growing them direct I feel sure that you would be moaning that there are not enough for your piffling 79p.
You have been gardening long enough to know that a seed company can only advise people who are intent on using 'Best Practice Methods.' They simply cannot cater for 'Smart Arses'!!!
Johnboy.
I must say that in just about everything you try and buck sound advice. Just as an experiment I have myself tried to germinate old seed and the last ones were a packet of Countess F1 just a year old but not in a hermatically sealed packet. The result was 3 out of 200 and they were automatically scrapped by me.
I bought fresh seed of the same variety and got almost 100% germination.
May I suggest you try and form a seed share with somebody or more people then when yours have germinated you pass them on and hopefully receive something you have not already bought.
The seeds thay you bought were probably in a foil packet hermatically seed but once you have opened them they should be used that year but would last in the foil if unopened until the year the vendor suggests.
I really don't see much advantage of growing mis-shapen, awkward to dig, awkward to handle and almost impossible to store Parsnips.
If you were growing them direct I feel sure that you would be moaning that there are not enough for your piffling 79p.
You have been gardening long enough to know that a seed company can only advise people who are intent on using 'Best Practice Methods.' They simply cannot cater for 'Smart Arses'!!!
Johnboy.
Hi Richard - parsnip seed doesn't keep easily, but you can save it for next year if you refrigerate it.
This is a really general rule but all seeds have a food source - if starch based (tomatoes, chillies, peas, beans..) they save for years. If oil based (carrots, parsnips, onions, basil..) they go off much faster. Then there are always those starchy ones like sweetcorn, that still don't keep well
If you keep all seeds cold and dry (ie in a sealed plastic container in the fridge)they go into a much lower state of suspended animation, use their food source more slowly and so save for longer. If in doubt the next year, test sow a few seeds onto damp kitchen paper in a saucer on the window sill. If they don't germinate - bin 'em.
Sue
This is a really general rule but all seeds have a food source - if starch based (tomatoes, chillies, peas, beans..) they save for years. If oil based (carrots, parsnips, onions, basil..) they go off much faster. Then there are always those starchy ones like sweetcorn, that still don't keep well
If you keep all seeds cold and dry (ie in a sealed plastic container in the fridge)they go into a much lower state of suspended animation, use their food source more slowly and so save for longer. If in doubt the next year, test sow a few seeds onto damp kitchen paper in a saucer on the window sill. If they don't germinate - bin 'em.
Sue
i sometimes wonder whether columbus "bucked sound advice" from the flat earthers 
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my last years experiment proved that in my garden i can transplant parsnips and get worthwhile results.
this year i will see the difference in germination of fresh and one year old parsnip seed grown (or not) in identical conditions.
incidentally i dont store parsnips, the ones we had roasted today were dug yesterday, arn't they supposed to have rotted or been eaten by slugs or something by now?
"minds are like parachutes, they work best when open"
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my last years experiment proved that in my garden i can transplant parsnips and get worthwhile results.
this year i will see the difference in germination of fresh and one year old parsnip seed grown (or not) in identical conditions.
incidentally i dont store parsnips, the ones we had roasted today were dug yesterday, arn't they supposed to have rotted or been eaten by slugs or something by now?
"minds are like parachutes, they work best when open"
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Brenjon
I would like to join the parsnip debate. I bought a packet of Suttons White gem (foil packet sealed)last year 2005 and got an excellent crop. On the packet it says sow by 2007. I sowed some in a seed tray on the windowsill a month ago and appeared to get almost 100% germination. That has prompted me to sow some outside this morning. I await the results with interest as the trial on the windowsill gives me confident expectations.
Regards Brenjon
Regards Brenjon
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a visitor
do you think I would get away with planting parsnips in rootrainers
or do you think the weather is now warm enough to plant direct?
I am on the south coast
or do you think the weather is now warm enough to plant direct?
I am on the south coast
Hello Visitor
You are better with loo roll middles but you must plant the parnsips out as soon as you see tap roots appearing at the bottom of the rolls. You should also be OK sowing direct this month- I'm in the South East and sowed some on my allotment last weekend.
Sue
You are better with loo roll middles but you must plant the parnsips out as soon as you see tap roots appearing at the bottom of the rolls. You should also be OK sowing direct this month- I'm in the South East and sowed some on my allotment last weekend.
Sue
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pigletwillie
- KG Regular
- Posts: 723
- Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2005 6:38 pm
- Location: Leicestershire
I love parsnips especially roasted and today I sowed a couple of rows direct into the ground.
A ground breaking moment for me as I have never grown the blighters before.
There, I`ve admitted it , I`m a parsnip virgin
A ground breaking moment for me as I have never grown the blighters before.
There, I`ve admitted it , I`m a parsnip virgin
Kindest regards Piglet
"You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind".
"You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind".
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same visitor
Thanks for your advice Sue, I think I will try both methods as parsnips are a fave and I am sure you cant have too many. Ok, now I better go register 
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...Is money that tight for 1 packet of seeds a year?
If there is one seed notorious for not keeping, even foil packed once it is opened, it has to be parsnips, seconded in my opinion by onions. If that does not suit your economy then share a packet with someone else on alternate years. Brassicas last at least 3 years, tomatoes same or more so. Swiss chard and montia self-seed.You might like to try butternut sprinter squash, similar taste when baked, similar keeping.Jerusalem Artichokes never cost anything for seed as you plant last year's tubers.
Allan
If there is one seed notorious for not keeping, even foil packed once it is opened, it has to be parsnips, seconded in my opinion by onions. If that does not suit your economy then share a packet with someone else on alternate years. Brassicas last at least 3 years, tomatoes same or more so. Swiss chard and montia self-seed.You might like to try butternut sprinter squash, similar taste when baked, similar keeping.Jerusalem Artichokes never cost anything for seed as you plant last year's tubers.
Allan
My view is that the only reason seed packets suggest planting parsnips so early is to get big roots. For smaller roots a later planting works fine.
Cloches are helpful to warm up the soil and stop the seeds sitting in wet conditions, as they take so long to germinate.
Cloches are helpful to warm up the soil and stop the seeds sitting in wet conditions, as they take so long to germinate.
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Howard Bantam
- KG Regular
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2005 3:23 am
I sowed Parsnips mid-late April last year & some of them were huge
I always plant my Parsnip seed in April, one year I had one weighing 4 pounds at Christmas, I'ts amazing how a huge parsnip tastes the same as a little one with no variation in taste or texture or is that just mine, usually white gem.I usually just wait untill the weather is nice enough for me, never mind the seeds. This year I'm going to flame the planting strip with a newley aquired flame gun prior to planting in accordance with Johnboys instructions, along with my carrot seed.
Talking about seed not being viable, last year I had about 6 thistle seedlings pop their heads up in my tunnel.2 years after I started it. I dug down to find the end of the root but gave up at 15 inches, so round upped any more that came up. Yhis year I have even more comming up, so am just rounding them up as they appear. when can I assume there will be no more, or have I another 5 years to go before they stop.