[pauly58]

Hi All
Has anyone had any success with pre germinated seeds i have just put some on a piece of kitchen paper in a plastic container
Thanks

[Ivor Backache]

Yes and it is the only way I sow them. I try a lot from last years packet first, just in case but they rarely ever germinate. I currently have some seed from a sealed packet bought last year between some wet kitchen paper.
When the little white roots emerge I sow them in a kitchen roll full of compost. As soon as the leaves emerge I plant out on the allotment.
I have tried the usual way in clusters but  spend more time weeding them and having to re sow . I only want a dozen.

[strangerachael]

me too - always pre-germinate now. I would usually do it some time in April, sometimes even May. They still grow huge.
I have also started to save the seed so I always have a fresh supply. Just leave one 'snip in the ground and the seeds will be ready in the summer.

[arh]

You have to be patient with them, quite a lot of this years seeds failed on me. Sow a load of them to make sure.

[Kathogur]

Is it only parsnips that you pre germinate.

[victoria park]

Parsnips are not easy in the wrong soil structure. For me, while I would and do sow and grow early chantenay carrots in 350mm deep trugs, I wouldn't entertain the idea of doing so for parsnips to maturity and out in the open has to be the way forward after germinating in paper pots.

Obviously there is no substitute for stone/manure free soil, but most allotmenteers I know do as above and plant out the whole batch immediately the odd seedling leaf appears. In my experience this is plenty of time to avoid the forking/cats cradle referred to in 95% of roots. The seedling main tap roots are not too long if planted immediately. I use 3 inch deep paper pots to sow in with no problem at all. If one leaves germinated parsnips in pots for a week and more, failure is pretty much guaranteed.
The odd person on the site sows seeds direct in stations but they are confident in beds they have laboriously sifted and prepared to perfection for parsnips/carrots. I also dib large holes with a metal spike and fill with compost before plonking the bottomless paper pots on top. Bit of a pa lava but less so then laborious 400mm deep preparation of a rotating bed that I would rather not disturb in a semi no-dig sense for following crops.

[mumofstig]

Is it only parsnips that you pre germinate.

You can pre-germinate or 'chit' peas, beans and sweetcorn.

[Elaine G]

I chitted the remains of a couple of packets of old broad beans.
Surprising how many germinated.
It means you don't waste pots of compost.


Elaine

[arh]

Well, I chitted lots of parsnip seeds, put the ones that germinated into 6"long x 2" wide richie pots starting late Feb/early march and planted them out  Tuesday and yesterday, the tap-root was just showing on some of the bottoms of the pots, put them in pot and all, (minus the bottom on some of the pots), 45 of them, we'll see how many grow, (if any). I admit that I've never done this before, (allotmenteering), but there's only one way to learn. arh. Reading my "Diary", I see that I started chitting them in January, on the 31st no less, then progressively on, they took anywhere from 10 to 25 days to germinate.

[TheWhiteRabbit]

I don't bother chitting, but then I don't seem to have a problem with parsnips (other things yes but not parsnips). I don't tend to sow too early which probably helps - I've sowed as late as May and still had decent snips.

I think most people tend to sow too early and that's why they fail.

[Pimento]

I must be lucky too because they always grow fine for me in finely-dug soil with some sand liberally added. I also wait until late April or early May to sow.

[arh]

Finely dug rich soil would be a blessing indeed.

[lettice]

I sow most of my parsnip seeds direct in deeply dug beds from Mid April early May.
They always germinate well, have not ever had any problems.
Think its a patience thing with parsnips as they do take a good 20-30 days to germinate.
I grow White Gem and Tender and True.

I do always sow some mid march in the greenhouse in 6 x 4 x 6 inch length/width/deep trays and write the sown date on the label.
Once they are about 3/4 inch I then transplant to a deep dug plot.
The only reason I do this is to get some a head start and have some in November time for first frost. The frost livens them up and makes them so much sweeter.

The direct ones grow to be picked over the winter months till early feb and I freeze a lot of those.

I do grow radish within the parsnip rows once they germinate or the transplanted ones between June and November.

[Kathogur]

Well after reading all this I will wait until next year.  I have been buying seeds galore and I do forget how much space I have, very limited.  I want to grow so much and cant.  Thanks for all the replies.

[Mr Dog]

Is it only parsnips that you pre germinate.

You can pre-germinate or 'chit' peas, beans and sweetcorn.

I'd add aubergine, peppers, cucumbers, courgette and squash to that list. I've also inadvertently chitted tomatoes when trying to save seed.......