[binner]

last year i took a crow bar and made a good size cone shape holes by moving it around in circles, i then sived my soil and mixed it one part soil, one part grit sand and one part multipurpose compost, i then filled each hole with it, i sowed 3 seeds in each one, avon resister and student, both from kings and sons and had 100% germination these were sowed in april sometime, i then went on to have snips so big i could not even dig them out my biggest came out snapped at 18in long and measured 3in accross the bottom where it had snapped and was nearly 10in accross at the top!!!!!!!!!! the huge ones were student and the avon resister were just normal good sized ones with only the odd fork in them

[Trikidiki]

It used to be suggested that you poor boiling water into the drill before you sow, supposedly the heat shocked the seed and helped germination.

[Ma and Pa Snip]

Thanks for all the helpful replies so far.

The soil is good, well broken down, not stoney.  All our veg beds are at least 9 inch raised beds with sifted soil and well rotted home compost.

I hadnt thought about using loo roll tubes for parsnips, we use them for leeks. May well give it a try this year.

I think the germination problem has probably been hit nicely on the head as the OH has a habit of not wishing to waste seeds. So fresh seed it is this year.

Havent worked out what happened with the ones from the nursery, one description in your kind replies is apt.. Sputnicks, the same happened with the carrots from there. Whereas the various carrots we sowed ourselves direct all did well.
Think thats to do with root crops not transplanting well, despite making deep conical holes and making sure the roots dropped in straight.

Will put last years events down to experience and try some of the ideas in your replies this year.

All input gratefully received, ta

[SkipRat]

Toilet rolls in greenhouse are the way to go with snips, sow two seeds per roll then nip the weakest one if both germinate. As soon as they germinate plant the full roll into your plot and you will have lovely snips for winter use. I have used this method to grow mine for the last 4 years and it has never failed me yet.   

[AndyRVTR]

Just a thought, but if germination is the problem when sowing direct, would it help putting the bottom/top half of a bottle over where you have planted the seeds to raise the temperature to help? 

[Ma and Pa Snip]

Just a thought, but if germination is the problem when sowing direct, would it help putting the bottom/top half of a bottle over where you have planted the seeds to raise the temperature to help? 

Hi Andy, thanks
have tried the bottle technique but still failed, last year we also tried sowing under fleece tunnels.

Think we have now decided that failed germination was due to probably using old seed.

It was the failed germination last year that led to my buying young plants from a nursery and the subsequent problems with those.

[VirginVegGrower]

Sow in a newspaper pot, peat pot or sweet pea tube - all of which can be planted to rot away.

[strangerachael]

Another thing you could try is pre-chitting your seed. You put the seeds on some wet/damp kitchen roll in a container in a warm place and when the seeds start to sprout then you sow them (discarding the ones that haven't germinated). You can either sow direct which is what I did last year and they worked fine, or for extra certainty sow into tubes or whatever. I can't remember when I sowed mine though, but I think it was at least March if not April/May. It is a bit fiddly but there won't be any thinning.

[Kristen]

You folk sowing several seeds make sure you do get all the thinnings out.

I did two-seeds per-loo-roll one year, thinned then before planting out, but some germinated later



Now I chit on moist kitchen paper (more faff, admittedly) and only do I seedling per "pot")

[Aidy]

This year will all be chitted, three methods used last year and by far the best was the pre-chitted method, all those chitted germinated and produced stonkingly good snips, i'm sold.  Also with pre-chit (try saying that after some drinks) is the spacing is sorted so no thinning!

[Ma and Pa Snip]

So today I decided that since the peas I had put in for overwintering under a fleece tunnel were not going to show their face I would rake the ground over and sow some parsnips.

Nice sieved raised bed, raked it over, put the guide string along, made my furrows, got the packet of Suttons White Gem parsnips out, opened the packet and then it struck...................

that 'senior moment'  !!!!!!!!!!!!!  



some may know the one,

the one where you forget that not all seeds come in a  foil packet    


Now I started this thread because I have had trouble in the past getting parsnips to germinate

At this stage I am now taking bets,  

The bet is that the two rows of parsnips I managed to get in the seed lines don't germinate as well as the seeds that fell on the ground...blew around all over the place never to be seen again until they decide to come up in the middle of the ground designated for other crops !!!

Oh the joys of those amateur senior moments    



BTW, I'm not ignoring the advice given before in this thread,  I shall be trying some of the methods suggested.  providing I don't have a senior moment where I forget to sow anymore Parsnips, although I doubt Mrs Snip will let me get away with that.