[Michael D]

Hi all  i`v sowing some parsnips in loo rolls for the first time, they`ve just started to  show how long do i need keep them in the greenhouse, or should i plant them stright out before they get much bigger.   any advice please.

[Aidy]

Snips are pretty hardy things, I would think you could get them out now. I have just started mine of in tubs, I pre-sprut them chuck int grownd.

[Kleftiwallah]

I agree get them in the ground, you can drape a bit of plastic over them should frost be forecast.  I've got mine in kitchen paper roll tubes (bit longer) so I can keep them inside just a smidge longer.   Cheers,   Tony.

[DD.]

You shouldn't need to protect 'snips from the frost - as Aidy says, they're pretty hardy things.

[Kristen]

I reckon mine are about 3 weeks from germinated to "must be planted out" (i.e. tap root will appear at the bottom of the pot and thus the risk of the parsnip forking becomes significant). This is generally the moment at which the first true leaf appears - so if you see that get them in immediately!

I use newspaper pots that I make 6" - 7" tall to give them more height for tap root. I think with loo rolls it could become a problem sooner as they are shorter / less tall.

Need to harden them off too, so I start doing that 7 - 10 days after they appear so that they get at least a week of hardening off before being planted out

[stompy]

Does the bottom of a paper pot not cause a problen for the root to break through?
I would have thought that that could cause forking?

[bigben]

Does the bottom of a paper pot not cause a problen for the root to break through?
I would have thought that that could cause forking?

I tend to tear off the bottom bit of paper so it is open and tear a strip of round the top to prevent wicking of moisture just before it is dropped into position.

[Kristen]

Does the bottom of a paper pot not cause a problen for the root to break through?
I would have thought that that could cause forking?

The bottom is very soggy, and when I have left them too long in the past the tap roots have appeared through and under the paper.

But that is a good point in favour of loo rolls

I do tear off the top inch so there is no "wick" above ground to dry out the paper

[stompy]

I did sweetcorn in loo rolls a few years back and on over half of them the top of the loo roll was around 1mm to 5mm above ground and it reall did cause a problem.
I lost alot of them to drying out as you say it reall does wick away the moisture.

[mike1987]

with sweetcorn i  leave the top 3 or 4 mm on and cover it with compost when i plant them out to earth the up a little and to prevent wicking last year i never lost a single plant and had my best ever crop

[Kristen]

Sweetcorn need "earthing up" a bit anyway (when roots appear from the stem), so sounds like a good plan

Newspaper pots are easy to tear, but I imagine it might be a bit harder to remove the top bit of loo roll without disturbing the whole root-tube