[viettaclark]

Thought this was a super idea....quick cropping radish and I know where the parsnips are!
Actual practice....I was pulling up baby parsnips with the radishes even though I was EXTREMELY careful!
Hope they'll regrow....just bunged them back in......

[Salmo]

You can avoid that by sowing the radishes thinner. Keep in mind that the radishes are there as a marker and any crop is a bonus.

Some people station plant the parsnips i.e. put a pinch of seed at 6 inch spaces, and then put the radish seeds in between.

[DD.]

I just station plant the parsnips & mark the row with any old stick.

Werks fer me.

[JayG]

Thought this was a super idea....quick cropping radish and I know where the parsnips are!
Actual practice....I was pulling up baby parsnips with the radishes even though I was EXTREMELY careful!
Hope they'll regrow....just bunged them back in......

Agree entirely; doesn't work for me - even sown thinly the radishes grow far too quickly and strongly and swamp the poor little emerging parsnips. All you have achieved is the introduction of yet another "weed" to compete with your precious row of parsnips!

[compostqueen]

I use this method with all sorts of things, not just parsnips, and it works well if you don't sow too thickly.  I tend to use spring onions or rocket as I am not fond of radish    I see it more as intercropping rather than row marking but it serves both purposes.  I have carrots with spring onions at the moment and the onions will soon be ready for picking

Don't be put off if you don't succeed first time. Where would we be in gardening if we did that! 

[Aidy]

Two other methods is to either pre-germinate your snip seed so its up a lot quicker or do your drill a little deeper, sprinkle some bag compost in the drill, pop seed on compost and cover with the bag compost, that way you will have a drill that is darker in colour then soil around, you can also as suggested station sow by dibbing your hole, filling it compost and covering with the compost, again you can then see where you have sown your seed.