[Goosegirl]

I have posted a couple of parsnip topics before but I still have some problems and would appreciate your advice yet again.  On Radio 2, a gardening chap was sowing his pre-germinating parsnip seeds in trays now - ok - he said that they have a very long growing period - ok - but my problem is that I seem to get big and rather bitter parsnips in winter as I prefer them to get some frost to make them sweeter. I was going to sow them in late April so they won't grow as big and woody with a big core but is that too late? I'm growing "Gladiator" and "Tender and True" this year. Should I try sowing some now then again in late April  to see if there is any difference in quality? My soil is medium and in raised beds and I use B.F. and Bone to start them off direct outside.

[DD.]

April is not too late, in fact if you don't want big ones, it may be too early.

The 4lb 5oz legendary one of mine was from an April sowing.

[craggy]

I have posted a couple of parsnip topics before but I still have some problems and would appreciate your advice yet again.  On Radio 2, a gardening chap was sowing his pre-germinating parsnip seeds in trays now - ok - he said that they have a very long growing period - ok - but my problem is that I seem to get big and rather bitter parsnips in winter as I prefer them to get some frost to make them sweeter. I was going to sow them in late April so they won't grow as big and woody with a big core but is that too late? I'm growing "Gladiator" and "Tender and True" this year. Should I try sowing some now then again in late April  to see if there is any difference in quality? My soil is medium and in raised beds and I use B.F. and Bone to start them off direct outside.

Hi,seems a bit early,soil here is very cold,why not wait till mid march.A lot of books say february,but as they are a notorious bad germinater,i would hold off a while.

[madcat]

I sowed Gladiator in April last year once the soil started to warm and got 30" lovely parsnips.  The cores weren't woody either, right to the end; I have just lifted the last few. 

[Salmo]

I usually put mine in late March / early April. If the soil is dry water the furrow before planting and when you have covered your seeds with soil tamp it down so that there is good contact between soil and seed. Sow thickly and add a few radishes which will come up quickly and mark the row, they also produce a bonus crop.

If you want parsnips that are not too big, thin them out to about 3 inches apart rather than the traditional 6/8 inches. They do not seem to get such woody cores either.

[Kristen]

My seed packet ("Tender and True") says sowing from Start Feb-End May, and harvest from Start Sep - End March

First good frost will be in November ... and I (personally) don't want to eat parsnips before then ... so March / April sounds a good time.

I had the packet in my "Sow soon" box, so I'm glad I saw this thread and reconsidered []

[galen]

Edit - I'm no expert !!

In the right thread this time - I am down south but I sowed my Panache parsnips (from T&M, sow April - June, harvest Sept onwards) in loo rolls at the beginning of May last year and planted out first week of June with some success. Just ensure you plant them out as soon as the first true leaves come out, otherwise you get a huge (in diameter) snip but only loo roll size in length. 

The ones I got in the ground on time did very well, although not to DDs size I got a couple of huge ones and up to last weekend still had some sweet, "unwoody" ones in the ground. I recall I dug up the first one before the frosts and it was nice and sweet, now after several frosts and snowfalls my wife is saying they are too sweet !! 
 

[greenstan77]

hi all,

       Last year i planted my parsnips straight in the ground early march with a polythene covering to keep soil warm. i didnt use any feeds except manure. and ive had some lovely parsnips. possible soil conditions. did u lime soil?

[zazen999]

Last year, after faffing with different methods for several years; I prepped a square bed in late May by adding some sand and digging it into my clay, sowing the seeds across the surface, and putting a sieved mix of coffee grounds and sawdust [just 2 organic things I had at the time] over the top [just a light covering]. I then left them to it; weeded twice once the snoops were up. I started harvesting in Nov.

I find they get off to a good start if you sow later; and I'm still harvesting them now, all the sweeter for the 3 week solid ice ground they were stuck in.

I'm leaving about 1/8 of the bed to self seed [they are Tender and True, a non F1 Variety] and will collect the seeds later in the year.

[Kristen]

I grew mine in Richy-pots last year. That sorted out the germination issue, and I planted them with a trowel.  I have lazy-raised-beds, so top 9" or so is good and friable, but the clay under that is pretty hard. My parsnips gave up when they came to the hard stuff.

What's best for this year?  Make hole with trowel and then with crow-bar below that perhaps?  Or Bulb planter perhaps?

[zazen999]

When I first got my garden, it hadn't been dug in years and it was that hot spring - 3 months of rain that we had 3 years ago.

For the carrot beds; I dug out a square of soil down to the depth of a decent carrot; sieved it back in mixed with home made compost and got lovely long carrots. If you do it a bit at a time [to get rid of the clay pan] and fork the bottom over, with some loose compost in the bottom of the pit as you do it, it should help to break up the clay below. Would work the same with snoops.

Or, dig out a v shaped trench, and crow bar at regualar intervals, and fill the trench back in with home made compost; and sow into that - should help to get longer snoops.

Or....and this is something I saw on a lottie open day; make long 'raised beds' which are about 6 inches wide, place on the forked soil or on your raised beds, fill with home made compost and sow into that - just gives them another 6 inches depth. I have saved offcuts of wood to try this along the middles of some of my beds this year. You don't have to 'make' them permanent, just use pegs to keep the sides up; once the harvest is gone, take the sides down and use the soil as mulch.

[Kristen]

I had considered your last point - make a frame the size of the Snips plot - so 4' wide for the bed, and I suppose about 6' long - and then use that to retain a, moveable, deep bed.

I think I fancy that idea for this year. Should also mean that they root-deeper looking for moisture.

I suppose I could even fill it with sharp sand to then spread out and improve general soil texture. (and make some vertical growing "zones" with better-compost as per this: http://www.allotment-diary.co.uk/Exhibition-long-show-carrot.html )

[zazen999]

I had considered your last point - make a frame the size of the Snips plot - so 4' wide for the bed, and I suppose about 6' long - and then use that to retain a, moveable, deep bed.

I think I fancy that idea for this year. Should also mean that they root-deeper looking for moisture.

I suppose I could even fill it with sharp sand to then spread out and improve general soil texture. (and make some vertical growing "zones" with better-compost as per this: http://www.allotment-diary.co.uk/Exhibition-long-show-carrot.html )

Yup, I have about 10 small frames that I made out of pallets that I pop onto my other raised beds that get moved around - some as seed beds, some as deep beds, some as 'i'm saving these for seed' beds....and am getting a job lot of tyres in the next fortnight for this same purpose. YIPPEE!!!

[Ivah]

I don't know about you but I only eat Parsnips in the Winter as a roast vegetable or sometimes in soup so there is no real need to have them ready dramatically early.
Every year the forums are full of people failing to germinate them in Mid-Winter and getting awfully anxious about it. The solution usually offered is to start faffing about with tissue and tweezers like you were in an operating theatre. The other regular advice is to use fresh seed of an F1 variety - I agree with that bit. I think the clue to success lies in this idea of germinating them in the warmth - perhaps they prefer it a little warmer.
My method is to get their ground ready then cover it with a cloche about the beginning of April. Then about Mid-April, it was 15th last year, I take out drills in the warmed ground an inch or so deep and fill them with multipurpose compost and sow 3 or 4 seeds at 4" stations (there's usually more seed in a packet than I want to use in a season). Water if the compost is a bit dry, protect them with slug pellets and tuck them up in the cloche again until they are well germinated. Uncover and single them and leave them to get on with it.
We are still eating good sized Parsnips variety Albion.

[DD.]

April

Pinch of seed every 8"

Thin

Wait

Eat

Simples