Parsnips

[annie8]

Am going to have a go at growing some parsnips this year. Have ordered some gladiator seeds. Been doing a bit of research and seems one of the biggest challenges is germination. Am up in Scotland and the soil temp in my raised beds is still around 6 degrees. I have a greenhouse but it isn’t heated. What would people suggest for the best way/time to get these seeds going for my situation. I could certainly chit them like I do for peas etc

[greenishfing]

I struggle with parsnips. Really their only problem is germination, once they come up there doesn't tend to be any problems. They also really do not transplant well. I tried one year and ended up with something that looked like underground octopuses.

In the end I just plant them really thickly and not too early. I have tried the 3 seeds at each station method and still ended up with patchy rows and they take forever to germinate so finding the seedlings among the annual weeds that appear can be a pain as well.

[Snadger]

I usually sow my parsnips in February but ground conditions (saturated) have not been good this year so they will need to go in a bit later.
Because of eratic germination I just sow them direct outdoors but sow them very thickly. If more germinate than what's needed I just weed them out. They always take ages to germinate and are said to go three times to the devil before germinating!

[Penellype]

The absolute most important thing is fresh seed. Even 1 year old seed is unlikely to germinate. You can chit them on damp kitchen paper but you need to plant them as soon as the root starts to appear - it grows very quickly so even a day later is likely to give you bent or twisted roots.

I sow mine in mid-late March, depending on the weather - sow thickly and thin them, as there are always loads of seeds in the packet.

[Sweet savory]

I have found the later I leave them the better and faster they germinate. Although that’s relative as they’ll never be quick.
So down here in sunny Somerset I wait until the first half of April to sow and have infilled any gaps up till the middle of May and still got a decent sized root.
Gladiator is a nice one to do.

[annie8]

Thanks so helpfully it is fresh seed, and sounds like I would probably be best direct sowing but thickly. I’ll wait i a while though to let the soil warm up. Will put some black plastic down to encourage that. I will also do a bit of a dig over - don’t normally - but to pick out stones.

[Plot70]

I also chit them.
I put them in to chit on kitchen roll. They need to fatten up for a few days before they go in the ground. I did them in several batches last year planting into a bed that had been dug down to the bedrock for bine weed removal. I got a good crop with only sun dried bind weed roots for fertilizer.
The biggest was just over 1Kg and about 20% forked.

[Snoop Puss]

I leave them later too, like Sweet Savory. In the past, I started them off in very long paper pots and then planted the lot out. But you have to be quick and plant out almost immediately after germination as the tap root grows really quickly. Not easy to get the timing right if you live a busy life. Still, we always had parsnips, if a bit twisty at the bottom. But I only grow half-long ones (Guernsey), so probably no loss of useful veg. I'm going to try sowing direct again this year, just to save faff.

[Mr Bones]

We grow Gladiator and sow into compost drills in the last week of April (I read somewhere parsnips were originally a Mediterranean plant).
Normally sow two rows then plant module started lettuce down the centre. The young lettuce need regular watering at first and this keeps the Parsnip seed damp while they germinate. By the time the parsnips are putting on plenty of leaf the lettuce is finished.

[annie8]

We have success! Lots of little seedlings have appeared, after a direct sowing on 2 May.

[Mr Bones]

Great stuff Annie glad it worked for you. We've just thinned ours out (first thinning..)

[Plot70]

Mine are on at least two true leaves.