Germinating parsnip seeds

[Nik]

I wouldn't bet on having a fair bit of time. Those tap roots can shoot down if you're not careful. If you've got a few then check underneath them all every day, as soon as you see the first one poking through get them all in the ground, the rest will be along any moment!

[rustylady]

this is so interesting, i have some seeds on a paper towel which i have kept wet they are in a tupperware and i have the lid on, will this be ok or should i put some holes in the tupperware.

Making holes would defeat the object of using Tupperware.

[Scarlet]

Ok - will pop out and plant them in my newspaper pots in the greenhouse now. Thanks!

Parsnips are hardy and don't need any greenhouse protection. Once they're sprouted then can be planted straight in the ground. You don't want the roots hitting the bottom of your paper pots either. You will get better results if you give them a miss.

[Snadger]

I've been trying to germinate some parsnip seeds too but mine is a catalogue of errors!

First lot dried out, second lot got knocked off the sill and scattered around the room, third lot actually started germinating and then dried out amazingly quickly! I'd put them in a sealed plastic bag and they'd been fine with me just tapping the bag so the condensation watered them every day and then one day when I went to do it most were frazzled.

I've still got about 5 germinating in there and I've moved them further from the window but at this rate I'm going to need to order some more seeds!

Sounds very much like my doomed trial at pre-germination of parsnip seed!

[Snadger]

Mix with weak wallpaper paste and sow in row with cake icer!

[RedRuth]

I'm trying the 'make a hole with a cane, fill with fine compost, water with boiling water and sow seed (Gladiator)' method. Never tried it before but it can't be worse than the germination rate I got last year.

[ploshkin]

I've not had much luck pre germinating so for the last few years I have sown seeds, 3 to a hole, in rows between my broad beans when I plant them out. It doesn't' help them to germinate but I am not left waiting & wondering over a bare patch of ground that could be used for something else. The parsnips germinate & grow happily under the beans which are finished & taken out pretty early leaving the parsnips to grow on. As parsnip seed needs to be fresh & I don't need much, I try to get some seeds in right at the edge of the bed. I don't harvest these but leave them to regrow the following year so I can collect some nice fresh, free seed.

[rita1]

well they germinated and are now in the ground, also all the others that i planted out are now showing their heads, i thought i had lost the lot to this cold and wet weather, but those few days of sun and warmth must of given them the push.
i love parsnips, so glad they are growing.

[roitelet]

I'm showing off!!!!! Parsnips are one of the things I have success with.

Take an iron bar and plunge it in the ground then work it round to make a deep funnel shaped hole. Fill this with sifted soil and sow a pinch of seed on top. The seed must be fresh. When the seed germinates thin to 1 per station. I've done this for years and get long straight parsnips every time.

I did try loo rolls and pre germinating at one time but have better sucess with the method above.

[Chippy Minton]

Me too! Tried an experiment last year, half sown in the individually poked hole (I have a rusty railing to make the hole!) half sown in drills, the individual method all germinated and were at least 4 times the length. It's the rusty railing method for me every time

[hearts151]

I have some parsnip seeds and plan to sow them in the next week or so (glad im slow, weather in edinburgh has been attrocious)

However I've never grown vegetables before and was just going to scatter seeds in a pot thing i have (the seeds i have are for broad short parsnips) and thin out to the instructions on the packet lol.

But maybe I'm thinking i'm better pre germinating or doing that iron bar thing?

Thoughts?

[nellie-m]

There was a wonderful article by Carl Dent on the nvsuk website but it seems to have been removed :-(

It was called "Successful germination of parsnips" and here are a few quotes from it:

"In my early days of kitchen gardening on an allotment I came to realize that germination of a good row of Gladiator Parsnips was very much a hit and miss affair. Some years a full row, other years very poor and second late sowing frequently no better. I would console myself with the usual excuse ’ Poor seed’ and resign myself to buying parsnips that winter.

While explaining my inability to grow parsnips to the allotment ancient elderly sage he remarked “Nay lad. Thas got to keep em wat early on”. I probed further and found an article which stated that parsnip seedling leaves (cotyledons) when they first come out of the seed are unable to grow upwards through dry soil but were able to if the soil was damp."
...
"When you come to think about it, it is always damp on the ground under a plank.
My technique now is to sow the parsnip row as usual and put at one end a label with parsnip name and very important the date of sowing (most important with my memory). I next water the row and cover the row with planks preferably ¾” by 9” and 8’ or 9’ long. I place a brick on each end of the plank to prevent them, when they dry, from naturally bending upwards at each end to leave an airspace for a drying breeze to penetrate. Germination takes 21 to 24 days so I lift the planks after 21 days and place them alongside to walk on if I need to water to keep the soil moist over the next few days. After this it is only a matter of sitting back until harvesting a good crop of gladiator parsnips."

Has always worked for me, even with three year old seeds.

[Paulieb]

At this time of year instead of starting a new thread I thought I'd tag on this one.

My north lecturer last year mentioned that it was worth putting your parsnip seeds in the fridge for a few weeks before sowing.

Don't knowhow much difference it'll make but I might try something like that this year with some as normal for a test.

[Kristen]

Did he say if it should be Dry? or Damp (as in Stratification)?

[Paulieb]

Did he say if it should be Dry? or Damp (as in Stratification)?

Not really sure now you ask, but I presume he meant dry. So it fools the seed into thinking its winter, and then when it goes outside side (warmer than the fridge!) they all spring into life.