[Ma and Pa Snip]

if there ne vegetable we are constantly lacking success with, it's Parsnips.

Tried sowing direct, severe lack of germination

Tried sowing in pots and transplanting, better germination but dont take kindly to transplanting

Last year tried buying young plants from a nursery (not garden centre) that had grown them in styrene trays, 98% of them forked

This year we are thinking of trying sowing in Rootrainers, anybody had any experience of growing parnips this way.

Any other suggestions ??

Thanks

[tontom]

Sorry can't really help but i always grow mine directly into the soil and i have to thin them out , always had success that way , sorry, but the best of luck 

[Ma and Pa Snip]

Sorry can't really help but i always grow mine directly into the soil and i have to thin them out , always had success that way , sorry, but the best of luck 

Thanks anyway. Maybe the variety you sow is a better germinator than ones we have tried

[paintedlady]

not personal experience with parsnips, but have found that taking plants out of root trainers generally are about as disruptive as you can get to roots especially if it gets long enough to go beyond the bottom bit.  I haven't quite mastered how you take plants out without the compost collapsing and the whole thing falling away leaving me holding a bare plant in mid air    

Instead of pots, try toilet roll cardboard inners which are slightly longer so roots won't get quite so disturbed by the time you plant out the whole thing (the cardboard will rot down in the soil) - there have been recent posts about it so just go back a page or two or do a search.  The trick is to plant the whole thing in the ground BEFORE the roots appear at the bottom of the tube ... if you disturb the trailing roots, that's when you'll end up with sputnik shaped parsnips rather than forked.  

What about the variety - could be you need to grow a shorter wedge shaped parsnip like White Gem rather than go for something with long roots?

[Kristen]

I grow mine in pots made from newspaper (rolled around a spray can).  The pots are, say, 2" diameter and 6" - 7" tall, so allow for quite a lot of height - but other than that similar to loo-roll approach.

I plant out the moment the third leaf appears - which is about 3 weeks after germination, thus you need to start hardening off 2 weeks after germination even though nothing much appears to be happening! as the plants are still tiny when planted out.

I plant using a bulb planter (a "crow bar" or similar would do) to make a hole and fill it with fine soil - so no stones immediately under the tap root.

Alternative would be to make the planting hole, fill with fine soil, and "station sow" several seeds and then thin (with scissors to avoid disturbance) a bit later on. 

[plum crumble]

I have used Kristen's method, knowing that (a) they take ages to germinate, (b) they don't take kindly to root disturbance. The results have been fabulous this year. Give it a go.

Oh - the other important thing with parsnips is to use fresh seed each year - don't use a packet from previous years as they are notoriously poor at germinating

Good luck!

[savbo]

I transplanted from Richy pots last year but lots had root malformation (prob due to chitting), so this year am planning to follow advice off here and
a) make holes with a dibber and fill with used compost, then sow a couple of seeds in each
b) leave sowing a bit later so germination is hopefully better

[plum crumble]

ah Savbo - the point of Richy's pots is NOT to transplant from them - leave them in there and drop the whole thing in the holes. that way the roots are not distrubed at all

[savbo]

oh I wasn't clear was I? 
I planted the whole thing as you say.

[Comfortably Numb]

I leave sowing until the last week in April when the soil has hopefully warmed up nicely. Then I sow direct and cover with fleece. Last year I had pretty much 100% germination 

I think a lot of germination problems with parsnips are due to sowing far too early.

[JayG]

Fresh seed (more important than with any other vegetable) and sow directly in April when the soil is warmer. You might well have to use a technique like Savbo's if your soil is very heavy (or very stony), both of which can lead to forking.

That works for me (I even manage to successfully transplant the thinnings but that is probably because my soil is very light and it's quite easy to move them without damage; they barely seem to notice!) 

[DD.]

As I said on a recent thread a few days ago:

April.

A pinch every 8".

Thin to one when big enough.

Wait for frost.

Eat.

Simples.

[Jonajo]

(1) Fresh seed for sure

(2) Make holes with the dibber or finger or something (!) where you want them to grow. Pop about half a dozen or more seeds in each. At least one of those seeds is almost certain to germinate - so remove the excess. This is not a waste of seed given the cheapness of the seeds, the sheer number in a pack and the lack of storage potential with them!

On the rare chance that a "parsnip hole" has no germinations, use one of the transplants: they will not be formed much at that stage and in my experience they transplant well at that stage (less so once they start to look like baby parnips)

That's it. Or, at least, I have had full success each year with that approach.

[Totty]

I use long cardboard tubes approx 3inch wide which you can get from any warehouse that use large boxes, these tubes are used to strengthen the corners and stop them collapsing. Decide on the length of parsnip you expect to grow and cut the tubes accordingly. Dig a trench this deep and place yor tubes where they need to go, fill around them so they are at ground level and snug. Fill the tubes with a mixture of growbag compost and molehill soil making sure there are no air gaps but not too firm. Cover the growing area for a few weeks beforehand with clear polythene raised off the bed to warm it up quickly. I generally sow mine in the first couple of weeks in march although i am in the southwest. Then leave the cosy cover on until they germinate. This will take upto 3-4 weeks, in which time it will be around april and the plants should grow on well with the cover removed. Water only when dry to encourage longer water searching roots. As was said above, just wait for the frosts to come and enjoy!

[8doubles]

I use kitchen roll tubes for the extra length but make sure to plant out before the root reaches the bottom.