Planting out pre-germinated parsnip seed

[pigletwillie]

Last year I pre-germinated my parsnip seed before sowing them into loo rolls and then planting the loo roll into the final position.

This system worked ok but because parsnip roots grow far quicker than the teeny weeny bit of top growth would suggest, quite a few of the resultant roots were very badly forked. Whilst this did not affect the taste, they were difficult to prepare without a lot of waste.

This year I am going to pre-germinate the seed just as last year but then the seed will be sown direct in their final positions to prevent root disturbance. The prepared bed will have a scaffold pole pushed into the ground a good foot or so and the resultant hole will be filled with multi purpose compost. The seeds will be sown 3 to each station, thinned out to the strongest one when established.

Hopefully this year all of the snips will be straight rooted.

[Cutecumber]

Good advice.

It's easy to make the mistake that long tubes or pots will be able to accommodate seedling root vegetables for very long without permanent malformation as a result. I've done it with carrots. Never again

[spud57]

We have just germinated the seed and put into loo rolls a week ago. They are barely visible as yet but when can we put the rolls into the ground please?

[Cutecumber]

When your soil is warm enough and if you can give them some protection from munching pests.

Here is the extremely unscientific method of testing... put your hand on the soil - if you can keep it there comfortably it might be worth a go. If not, wait another week and hope it warms up. A sheet of clear plastic will help warm it up, but the weeds will grow. Black plastic is better.

Some people say that if you can sit your bare bottom on the soil, it's warm enough for sowing - I dare you

[veg4681]

This year I am going to pre-germinate the seed just as last year but then the seed will be sown direct in their final positions to prevent root disturbance. The prepared bed will have a scaffold pole pushed into the ground a good foot or so and the resultant hole will be filled with multi purpose compost. The seeds will be sown 3 to each station, thinned out to the strongest one when established.

I like the scaffold pipe idea but how much do they cost? Sorry to be thick, is that plastic or metal pipe? I guess I'd have to get the DH to cut up the pipes using some sort of electrical cutting tool.

I've thought of another idea too (also outlined in another thread) with direct sowing from pre-germinated parnips seeds which is then covered with 1/3 buried clear plastic cups with tiny ventilation holes at the top that are too small for slugs to squirm through. Would this work?

The plastic cover could work as mini cloche so early direct sowing may be possible, if not for parsnips but also for other non-winter root vegetables. There is no way I can possibly afford those grossly expensive mini plastic bell cloches you see in GC and besides they don't supply in realistic quantity for vegetable gardener.

[sez]

I may have got the wrong end of the stick but I thought piglet meant that he would use a pole to make a hole in the soil, and then take it out again and fill the hole with compost (ie to make a patch of soil for the parsnip with no stones etc to fork it).

Pigletwillie I was just wondering what to do with my germinated parsnip seeds, think I might follow your method!

[veg4681]

I may have got the wrong end of the stick but I thought piglet meant that he would use a pole to make a hole in the soil, and then take it out again and fill the hole with compost (ie to make a patch of soil for the parsnip with no stones etc to fork it).

Doh...you're right, I hadn't read it properly, blimey cutting up all that metal pipes ! LOL! My head's somewhere today. Damn still means the seedlings will be exposed to those blasted slugs.

[roitelet]

An ordinary metal rod like a poker works well. Jusr work it round to make a funnel shaped hole.

Pre - germinated my Parsnips this year and sowed them in 2/3 of kitchen roll tubes. They have just come up and will go in the ground as soon as this dreadful weather lets up.

[Snadger]

An ordinary metal rod like a poker works well. Jusr work it round to make a funnel shaped hole.

Pre - germinated my Parsnips this year and sowed them in 2/3 of kitchen roll tubes. They have just come up and will go in the ground as soon as this dreadful weather lets up.

I favour the crowbar method as well for general use!

I had great success last year with planting in 6" pipes. If you situate the pipes along a boundary fence you dont take up much room either and can tie the pipes to your fencing!
I filled the pipes with damp builders sand, then used the crowbar method to form a cone down the middle. Fill the cone with old John Innes potting compost or whatever you have, and sow three seeds in the top of the pipe. If all germinate thin to one parsnip per pipe!

[pigletwillie]

I have found that the root is sticking out of the botton BEFORE its even made a pair of leaves and its the root damage to the root tip that causes the forking.

The pre-germinating bit works well, the bog roll bit doesnt so well.

[pigletwillie]

just put some doubled up kitchen roll on a plate, wet it well, sprinkle on the seed and cover the plate with cling film. Put the plate on a kitchen worktop and wait a few weeks for the to start to sprout.

Sow the seed when its just germinating, the shorted the root the better.

[Cutecumber]

Don't use rootrainers for parsnips and carrots.

They train lots of roots - you're only interested in the first one.

[vegman]

This year Im going to try pre germinating Parsnips and then sowing directly into the soil. Or rather making a shallow trough along the row and filling with compost so that I can be sure that the seedlings are in contact with the growing medium.

Im not really into loo rolls, metal pipes etc I like to keep things simple if I can. I gow in 1200mm wide beds which are never walked on and have been double dug originally so there is a good depth of "loose" soil. I grew parsnips form seed sown direct into the ground last year and the ones that germinated were of good size and length.

Hopefully Ill get more plants by pregerminating first.

[Flummery]

I didn't have much trouble from forking with the loo roll method last year. To be honest, as long as you get them in before the root comes out the bottom, I can't see the difference in making a hole and filling it with compost. In fact you might even cause compaction like that?

[Cutecumber]

The world is going parsnip-crazy today