parsnip tubes
Notoriously fickle - that's parsnip germination!
You can only use new seed. The seeds spend so long in the soil that you can grow radishes to maturity between the rows before the parsnip cotyledons are seen. And if it is too wet, or too dry they won't germinate. Too hot - or cold. Then there is the possibility of pest damage.
We now germinate our young parsnips in paper cylinders in the greenhouse. We can control moisture levels, temperature variation, and keep a general eye out for them in the weeks they take to show.
Then, when they have little leaves showing strongly we plant them out in dibber holes in the soil.
The system has proved so reliable that we now have a parsnip glut and we are having to resort to making parsnip wine! Desperate measures indeed!
I sprinkle three seeds into each tube and then top with peat free potting compost. Watch this space.
4 comments:
Rib,
Hhrmph, ditto for parsnips (that is, like the apples).
I guess we need to be happy about what we can grow and focus on that!
Enjoy those parsnips....
Lisa
Brilliant idea. I only harvested three large parsnips last year, but they were very tasty.
We've struggled with parsnips to the point of not bothering, but your post has encouraged renewed optimism for success. Presumably toilet roll tubes would be okay?
toilet rolls are okay but have found that they unravel when wet, making the tube less stable. We make our tubes with waste paper and hold them together with sellotape.
Rob
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