Reply To: Parsnips!

[Plot 33]

I had a bit of a panic with my parsnips this year. I sowed three rows in mid March which I have done before with no problem. 3 weeks later no sign of parsnips, so I sowed 3 more rows in another bed in April. Again, 3/4 weeks later, nothing doing. I bought a new packet of seed, but was a bit annoyed because the 6 rows already sown was from a packet bought at the beginning of the year. I saw some stuff on the net about pre-germinating parsnip seed, which I thought I might try. Then I figured I had nothing to lose by trying with the original seeds to test them, so I put some in a sandwich bag with some damp compost/vermiculite and put it in the airing cupboard. They all germinated within a matter of a few days ! Went up to my plot and guess what? All 6 rows have germinated…they were just waiting for a bit of warmer weather. I am in SW London . If you search online you can find some YouTube clips where people pre-germinate their parsnip seed in a warm place before planting out. You could try it.