Manure and parsnips

I have just dug in a load of manure into my plot and was feeling very smug, until I realized I have manured the area where I am going to grow parsnips. I know I shouldn't have done.   

Am I doomed to forked parsnips. Or do you think I might get away with it? 

Can't be as bad as my curly parsnips from last year, so don't worry too much!  Tony's suggestion isn't a bad one 

It depends how 'fresh' the manure was, if quite old you may get away with it.

You could try driving a stake into the ground and rotating it so you have a  hole resembling an inverted cone, fill this with 'good compost and plant your seeds (three per station) and thin down to one per station when they show.   Good luck.

Cheers,   Tony.

Kleftiwallah, would it be okay to re-plant the ones you're uprooting when thinning or would this be impossible as they have a tap root?

each year i grow seeds in a tray and transplant them,,i never have problems,,just be a bit carefull  also the same with beetroot

I manure my parsnip patch every year and get real whoppers. What causes the forking is primarily stones and junk in the soil.

Thanks Trilliam.   I'll sow anyway. Quite happy with parsnip soup......again.
I'm not trying for 1st prize at the county show.

Might try making a hole and filling with fine soil because I have no shortage of stones.

Transplanting parsnips is a no-no for me. The fine end of the root is extremely sensitive to being moved and that too will add to forking. I always direct sow mine in spring and they always do very well for me. Just be sure to give them enough growing space rather than crowding them into a bunched up row. I space the plantings with 3-4 inch diameters all around  in an     X     X     X     X
                        

                               X     X     X

pattern in a 4 ft wide bed. Always see a few extra than you think you need due to low germination rates of parsnips.


Drat! The response altered my planting pattern - it should be in alternate spacings!

I have successfully transplanted thinnings, probably because my soil is sandy and loose - I doubt whether you could extract and replant them in heavier soils without damage.

I basically use DD's station-sowing technique - although my soil isn't that stony I remove the soil from the individual stations to a trowel-depth, sieve any stones from the removed soil, put it back and then sow. This is of course on a garden rather than allotment scale which might be too much faff for some!