Chitting seeds

[Newishgardener]

Good evening everyone :-)

This year we have put lots of raised beds I. To our plot an are giving square foot gardening a go we have drawn up out plan and know what going where and what quantities.

As we have gone in to that much detail we want to make sure that what we are putting in to the ground has the best chance of success so that we don't end up with lots of gaps.

I have read somewhere about people saying they chit their parsnip seeds so that the don't get gaps in their rows so I am going to give this a try I have just laid some toilet paper in the bottom of a plastic tray scattered the seeds on top of it and sprayed it to moisten them I an also giving it a go with carrots has anyone ever done this before and what other veg can you do this way ?? Oh and have I done it right ? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated


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[RaptorUK]

I am going to give this a try I have just laid some toilet paper in the bottom of a plastic tray scattered the seeds on top of it and sprayed it to moisten them

I did my Parsnips in a sealed Addis Clip and Close box with moistened kitchen roll paper, I did it in a plastic box with a lid so they don't dry out . . . I still ended up with a few gaps in my row and filled them later . . . but i fear I may have inadvertently weeded one or two of them out so I'm chitting a few more . . . I guess it's a non-deliberate successional sowing

[Newishgardener]

I did my Parsnips in a sealed Addis Clip and Close box with moistened kitchen roll paper, I did it in a plastic box with a lid so they don't dry out . . . I still ended up with a few gaps in my row and filled them later . . . but i fear I may have inadvertently weeded one or two of them out so I'm chitting a few more . . . I guess it's a non-deliberate successional sowing

Thanks for that raptor how long did they take to chit ? And have you ever tried doing it with any other seeds ??


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[Greenleaves]

With parsnips I always put 4 seeds per station, so far this has worked but be caseful when thinning. Just nip of the seed growth

[RaptorUK]

Thanks for that raptor how long did they take to chit ? And have you ever tried doing it with any other seeds ??

This is my first year with an Allotment so most things are new for me . . . Parsnips are the only thing I chitted apart from the Potatoes.

With the box in the dining room they took 4 to 5 days for the root to just start showing, I use a magnifying glass to check . . . thats all you need to know the seed is viable.

[andy_j]

So do you just pick the chitted seed off the paper then transplant it into the ground ? or plant the little piece of paper with the seed ?

Oh...damn good thread by the way to us who are just learning !!!

[Kristen]

With parsnips I always put 4 seeds per station, so far this has worked but be caseful when thinning. Just nip of the seed growth

Its a common method, but doesn't work for me as on my heavy soil I can never get on it early enough, and there is a risk that the wet (and cold) rots the seed, or makes them severely late (and then I would start panicking and re-sowing). Thus I sow in Newspaper Pots (Loo Rolls would do, but I don't think they are tall enough)

Make sure you thin all bar one - otherwise a pair will grow in deadly embrace

[RaptorUK]

So do you just pick the chitted seed off the paper then transplant it into the ground ? or plant the little piece of paper with the seed ?

If you catch them when the root has only emerged a few mm from the seed they they aren't attached to the paper and are easily sown into a drill.

[Kristen]

If you catch them when the root has only emerged a few mm from the seed they they aren't attached to the paper and are easily sown into a drill.

Some get away from me and dig themselves into the kitchen paper, for those I tear off a piece of the kitchen paper, roots and all, and plant "as one" - the paper soon rots. Bit more fiddly, and sometimes I wreck the root in the process ... and often-times I have way more chitted seed than I need to plant, so I go with easiest first. But if I am being mean and trying to get last year's seed to germinate then the viability is poor, and then I usually only have "just enough - maybe"

[Marie99]

Hi Im a newbie to the growing but I have chit most my seeds. I used kitchen roll sprayed with water, lay the seeds on the folded the kitchen roll over sprayed again then put into a sealed plastic bag (used freezer bags), I put these into plastic takeaway bot and sealed the lid. I placed it next to a radiator.
I have chit chillis, peppers, aubergine, tomatoes, cape gooseberry, cucumbers, did courgettes but wouldn't do them again as I don't think they need it, beetroot (don't think the beetroot needed it either!) and sugar peas (after soaking them in water over night. Everything seems to be growing, however its my first year and I know it will be a learning curve this year.