Parsnip questions

Lastly first - if it works for you, why change it?

I grow Javelin F1, always done well for me, but another 6 people will tell you 7 more.

Yes they are carrot fly prone, so I grow mine under Enviromesh with the carrots. It's easier to cut the affected parts out though than it is with carrots due to the size of the root, but I'd sooner have no damage.

The damage they cause can let in canker, which in turn causes more damage than the fly itself.

I didn't realise that they were prone to carrot fly DD. Fore warned is forearmed.

This will be my first time growing them. Can't remember what breed they are as they were a free packet. Actually I have 3 free packets. Hope the unopened packets will last till next year.

I faffed about with my seeds and started them off on damp kitchen paper, topping them with another piece of damp kitchen paper and when they had germinated I popped them into compost filled loo rolls using my eyebrow tweezers. And most of them have come up. I also sowed some straight into compost filled loo rolls and they have just started to come up but are way behind the ones I did on the kitchen paper.

Will get some environmesh before I plant them out. They seem OK on the patio for the time being. :happy:

Parsnip seed are amongst the worst for shelf life, see this chart:

http://www.allotment-garden.org/vegetable/general/seed-storage-life.php

That doesn't mean all will fail though.

I buy fresh every year and my approach to sowing is wait until April when the ground is warmer, one pinch every 8". Wait again, then remove all but the strongest seedling. Wait yet again, then eat.

The greatest aid I've found to growing parsnips is patience.

Patience....... er what's that?    Actually said to my son recently, ' I am a patient woman, I can wait'. He and OH nearly choked on their dinner.

Was quite patient with the mistletoe. Took me three years before I got some to grow.

Will take your advice DD and cultivate patience as well as parsnips. Do I need tin foil for these