[john shep]

Hi there.  I am new to this site and am looking for some advice re parnsips.  I now realise the errors I made last year as the seed takes so long to germinate.  Can I grow the seedlings at home under cover and then plant them out?  I have looked at several books and they all indicate planting straight to ground, but am wondering if I can get a head start.  Any comments appreciated thank you.

[Christine]

Hi - for what it's worth, I choose a good compost and grow my parsnips by sowing straight into tubs in warm place straight outside on the allotment.

But I do know others who start them off in the cardboard centres from toilet rolls and then plant them out from greenhouse when they have germinated.

Other people germinate them on wet kitchen roll and then plant on into newspaper pots to be planted out once they are a bit sturdy.

It seems that the secret is to not disturb the seedlings once you have germinated them, whatever route you take to starting them off. Which is why toilet rolls and newspaper pots are very suitable for starting off parsnips if you have the time, space and patience.

But as I haven't greenhouse or much windowsill space, I have to use the outside in a warm spot method.

[john shep]

Thanks Christine the paper method sounds good and I will give it a go.  Many thanks.

[DD.]

Straight in the ground, don't try & sow too early. Late March/Early April is soon enough.

A pinch of seed every 8", thinned out later to the strongest seedling.

[mr Isaccs]

Hi John,
     You can start parsnips off in multicells, putting a couple of seeds in each cell and thinning to the strongest. It's best to use fresh seeds every year as parsnip seeds are renowned for being a bit tempremental if old.
     You can keep your multicell on a cool window ledge or an unheated greenhouse (not icy).
When your parsnip seedlings are about an inch tall you can consider planting them out, being careful as they don't like root disturbance as Christine says.
     Try to choose a period of time in late march/early april when the weather is mild and the soil is not too claggy.
     Having said the above It's not neccessary to start them off in pots really, a little warmth, the rght soil conditions and, fresh seeds and a little patients should be all you need.
     Also try not to plant them on recently manured ground as they will more than likely fork
    

[8doubles]

Cardboard tubes from kitchen rolls are good. They give you a bit more room for the roots which seem to go down much faster than the green shoot goes up.
I put in 3 seeds and keep the strongest looking. If you do not thin them you end up with 2 or 3 corkscrew roots which are not easy to peel.

[Togalosh]

Last season was our first go - we seeded them in our unheated green house in multi purposde composted multi cell trays (april/may) & then planted out (all as per packet instructions).

1/2 did really well (we had 1 fresh out the ground today) but 1/2 did not do well as we planted them too close to the beans & I recon the soil got too compacted while we tended them.

Seeds are cheap enough so plant away & make notes so you can see what worked best for you.