Incidentally, has anyone tried the airing cupoard method of germinating parsnips? It was discussed on GQT a few months back in answer to a q about their poor germination.
(For those that didn't hear it, he suggested starting them off on damp kitchen paper in he airing cubpboard, check twice daily for germination, then transferring to loo roll tubes for a bit before planting out. 100% germination was claimed, but nothng mentioned about root distortion).
I don't get germinations problems. Buy fresh seeds every season, sow three times as many as you otherwise would, don't bury them too deep, keep damp till germination. I also plant radishes between seeds and rows. Apart from getting another crop, I know exactly where the parsnips are sown.
Yes - I do that too (except that the radishes are just in the rows, but come to think of it, there is a lot of spare space in between. How many radishes can one eat?)
I prepare my soil in winter by digging in compost and chicken pellets. At planting time (April - this helps avoid canker) I drive a metal stake 18 inches into the ground then wriggle it around so the top of the hole is about 3 inches wide. I then fill the hole with old compost. Doing this gives the parsnip a clear root run. (I read about this method in my 1947 gardening book - and it works.) Last year germination was 90%, this year only 30% and a varied crop of Gladiator. The best parsnip I have found is White Gem. Shorter roots but broader with a fine taste.
I grow parsnips in my raised beds down here near the Pyrenees. I sow them in March/April in unmanured soil. They germinate very quickly and mature very quickly. I usually start pulling them by the end of summer otherwise they go woody. If I leave them later they go very tasteless and woody, this may be because of the hot sun.
I grew them this year for the first time, Tender and True from Real Seeds in heavy stony clay soil with 2" of home made urine enriched compost on top. I had the first two in early July, not bad. They are now huge, one was 18" long, took 10 minutes to dig out. I planted them fairly close, maybe 5" apart in a grid.
Yes, it's criminal. I'm not sure what can be done apart from targeting the supermarkets. It doesn't happen here in Italy so much. You find the wonkiest, ugliest root veg in most supermarkets, and often spuds still with some soil clinging to them.
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Incidentally, has anyone tried the airing cupoard method of germinating parsnips? It was discussed on GQT a few months back in answer to a q about their poor germination.
(For those that didn't hear it, he suggested starting them off on damp kitchen paper in he airing cubpboard, check twice daily for germination, then transferring to loo roll tubes for a bit before planting out. 100% germination was claimed, but nothng mentioned about root distortion).
I would know which was which by tasting them. I would not have to guess. Nuff said
I don't get germinations problems. Buy fresh seeds every season, sow three times as many as you otherwise would, don't bury them too deep, keep damp till germination. I also plant radishes between seeds and rows. Apart from getting another crop, I know exactly where the parsnips are sown.
Yes - I do that too (except that the radishes are just in the rows, but come to think of it, there is a lot of spare space in between. How many radishes can one eat?)
I prepare my soil in winter by digging in compost and chicken pellets. At planting time (April - this helps avoid canker) I drive a metal stake 18 inches into the ground then wriggle it around so the top of the hole is about 3 inches wide. I then fill the hole with old compost. Doing this gives the parsnip a clear root run. (I read about this method in my 1947 gardening book - and it works.) Last year germination was 90%, this year only 30% and a varied crop of Gladiator. The best parsnip I have found is White Gem. Shorter roots but broader with a fine taste.
Yes - White Gem are good and Tender and True also, with q good canker resistance.
One or two of my old books have that method too, but our soil is pretty sandy so I haven't needed to use it.
I grow parsnips in my raised beds down here near the Pyrenees. I sow them in March/April in unmanured soil. They germinate very quickly and mature very quickly. I usually start pulling them by the end of summer otherwise they go woody. If I leave them later they go very tasteless and woody, this may be because of the hot sun.
I grew them this year for the first time, Tender and True from Real Seeds in heavy stony clay soil with 2" of home made urine enriched compost on top. I had the first two in early July, not bad. They are now huge, one was 18" long, took 10 minutes to dig out. I planted them fairly close, maybe 5" apart in a grid.
Use fresh seed.
I'm glad I'm not a farmer - this sort of thing makes me fume!:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34647454
Yes, it's criminal. I'm not sure what can be done apart from targeting the supermarkets. It doesn't happen here in Italy so much. You find the wonkiest, ugliest root veg in most supermarkets, and often spuds still with some soil clinging to them.