My Garden

The Trouble with Parsnips - Re-visited

Last post 15-05-2009 6:49 PM by bogweevil. 5 replies.

• 14/05/2009 07:25 AM

  Treskillan Location: Joined on: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 25

  Reply | Contact In April 2008 (where has the time gone??!!) I asked a question regarding growing parsnips under the title “The Trouble with Parsnips“.   I had had so much trouble trying to get parsnips to germinate that I asked the forum for help and promised that I would report back on my success or otherwise but I failed to do so. I failed to report back and I also failed to grow more than a few parsnips!   Because I promised to report back, I have decided to tell the sad story but I’ll keep it as short as possible. I hope someone remembers and is interested!   I sowed seeds in toilet roll tube centres and, as normal, in rows.   In some rows I dug deep holes and replaced the soil with good compost before sowing the seed. In other rows I sieved the whole row deeply, to remove stones, and some rows I didn’t bother at all.   In some of those rows, the seeds were soaked, before sowing, for twenty-four hours, in others forty-eight hours, and in others, not soaked at all.   I must have used about six or seven packets of seeds in all, which were all well within date and as fresh as I could get.   The result was that I managed to grow about nine rather mis-shapen but very large parsnips. No real result and none of the methods proving one way was better than the other (obviously!).   This year I just haven’t been able to go wrong – I’ve grown parsnips in toilet centres, and straight in the ground – no sieving, no soaking. I followed the advice of several people (“Bog Myrtle” and “bogweevil” among others) and just sowed them. So far, I have four long rows of young parsnip plantlets growing strongly and will need a bit of thinning though I sowed them thinly in the first place.   The strange thing is that, this year there are no weeds! There are these straight rows of parsnip plantlets, each completely weed-free! That I don’t understand.   I, also, sowed 24 parsnips in tubes and 16 of these grew into strong healthy plantlets - these are, also, planted out and doing well.   So far it all looks good and, if all goes well, I should get about fifty parsnips (I expected a high failure rate, as you can see!). Fifty sounds a lot of parsnips but, luckily, I make homemade wine and parsnip wine really is beautiful!   The conclusion I’ve come to is that some years, some crops grow well and in others they don’t! Not very scientific but that’s the best I can come up with. And that's the experience of all on out allotment.   Hope someone finds this interesting and that it helps in some small way.   Thanks to all for your help!

• 15/05/2009 09:20 AM

  In reply to

  Roundelder Location: NW Cumbria Joined on: 15 Apr 2009 Posts: 175

  Reply | Contact We are doing Parsnips this year for the first time so I was more then a little intrigued by your experience. I remember certain toilet rolls of years ago boasted "Izal Medicated" and is it possible that something in the process may contaminate (intentionally or otherwise) the centres. It may be of course be that the various manufacturers treat their materials differently as well, who knows?     Wide awake Roundelder

• 15/05/2009 02:04 PM

  In reply to

  Treskillan Location: Joined on: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 25

  Reply | Contact I wouldn't have thought that there's anything in the centre tube of any toilet roll to worry about. The amount of Izal or other disinfectant left in the tube wouldn't cause any problems but the ones I used were for normal, untreated toilet paper. Another point would be that the disinfectant is designed to kill bacteira and not plant life. I used the tubes last year because a friend had done so the year before with amazing success but the first lot that I grew did well - that is until they died when I failed to water them, while they were growing under glass and we had a very hot day! Plants don't like that! The very first year of my "allotmenting", I didn't know anything about the problems with growing parsnips so just sowed them. in ordinary soil, in the normal way, like any other seed and had a brilliant crop!  This year I went back to that method and I look like having a bumper crop again. I think I tried to be too careful and too smart last year - and worried too much! Next year, I intend to sow them in early March, as I did the first year, with the same lack of attention - and let them get on with it! Best of luck with your parsnips.

• 15/05/2009 05:13 PM	In reply to
  bogweevil Location: Joined on: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 2,043	Reply | Contact Were the mishapen 'nips ones that originated in the toilet tubes? You should be aware that soil and weather conditions could hardly have been better for parsnips this year.  If you have difficulties consider holding off sowing until April - parsnips seldom fail by then and although smaller than their early cousins will be just as tasty. Boggy Beware the bat-eared bogweevil

• 15/05/2009 06:29 PM

  In reply to

  Alix Location: Bristol Joined on: 19 Dec 2008 Posts: 47

  Reply | Contact another good way is to station sow your parsnips, 3 at a time. When they come through thin them to 1. Sow a row of radishes between your parsnips(in the same row). This is because parsnips are slow to germinate but radishes are quick. As soon as the radishes show you can see exactly where your parsnips are and happily hoe around the row without fear of chopping off emerging parsnips. I've never gone to too much trouble with the soil, mine grow in solid clay, unlike carrots which like a little more crumbly soil. Like bogweevils biscuits. Sowing them later is fine as they taste better after a frost anyway.

• 15/05/2009 06:49 PM	In reply to
  bogweevil Location: Joined on: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 2,043	Reply | Contact Three seeds is risky, although you might get away with it in April - sow at least five and for February sowings I would sow a continuous row of seeds leaving a finger width between each seed. Boggy Beware the bat-eared bogweevil