parsnips and carrots

[roadkill]

i have just read that you can pre-germinate parsnip seeds on the kitchen windowsill wrapped in damp kitchen towel and then plant them straight to the ground ...

Will this work for carrots ?

[vegnut]

There is probably no reason this wouldn't work, but they are smaller seeds and a lot more fiddly to deal with. The only reason that parsnips are pre germinated is because they are not very reliable, and take so long. You can count how many have germinated. Also they aren't getting taken over with germinating weed seeds when in the beds. You don't need to do this with carrots.
Hope this helps

[Snadger]

I have heard of people pre-germinating carrots, or for that matter any vegetable, in a clear plastic bag full of wallpaper paste. Once germinated , cut off a corner and squeeze out the paste with chitted seed in it along the drills and cover with soil!