Germination - parsnips and carrots.

[Chantenay]

I don't know what I am doing right - or wrong. Like many others, I struggle to get decent germination of parsnips and carrots by direct sowing at the allotment. But I read here that it is possible to transplant if very careful. So I started some sowing direct, and others in root trainers. Result - about six of each on the allotment and 100% success in root trainers. I really don't think its slugs because I treat with coffee. Any ideas for next year please?

[Chantenay]

[Tulipa]

Chantenay

There have been other threads about the lack of germination this year of parsnips sown direct.  The common thought is that it is the weather this year. 

Last year my parsnips germinated brilliantly sown direct, this year I sowed 300 seeds and 3 germinated!  I then sowed another packet and a couple more have come up they look so sad dotted about the bed, if they were in a row it wouldn't be so bad.  I shall enjoy them with my christmas dinner and treasure every mouthful!

Well done with your root trainers though, I might well have a go at growing some indoors next year in loo rolls to make sure I have some parsnips but I don't have a greenhouse so can't do many.

Carrots have been the same with lots of people saying they haven't done well this year.  Made me feel better.

It will be interesting to see if other people had better germination indoors...

T.

[Money_Bunny]

We germinated parsnips in the polytunnel in an old piece of drainpipe and had good results.

Planted them out and still doing well so hopefully we'll have a nice crop of them.

[sweet-pea]

I had great germination with my parsnips this year, the best ever I think, I have even had to thin them.  I made a deep hole with a pole and filled it with compost, sowed 3 seeds on top and covered with a thin layer of compost. All I have to do now is hope that my resident rat doesn't decide to eat them as it did 2 years ago!
Have also had good germination with carrots this year, although they don't seem to be growing very fast.  I sowed them directly too, covering the seed with a little compost.  It's the first year I've tried it and it definitely seems to be helping germination of everything so far.

[MrsKP]

i've had no trouble with sowing carrots or parsnips direct.

it is my first year and probably beginners luck, but we've not had it as scorchingly hot up here which may have been more to do with it.

;D

[busy_lizzie]

I did the long dibber method and filling the hole with compost, then planting the  couple of seeds in the circle.  Only 3 out of twenty germinated, so it is my worst ever year.  I can only think that it could be the weather as perhaps the soil needed to be kept moist while they were germinating and I may not have got up enough to keep it watered during the very hot weather. Think compost dries out quicker than soil. Some of my lottie neighbours went for sowing the seeds in a toilet roll holder at home first and seem to have had quite a lot of success using that method. I did try re-seeding without much luck so will give the sowing a seed in the t/hole method a try next year.  busy_lizzie

[Plum]

I accidently split the contents of a new packet of carrot seeds in my nice damp turnip bed. Needn't have worried , no one of the carrot seeds germinated

[Merry Tiller]

I have for the last 2 years had terrible carrot germination (my parsnips have been fine, I use the hole made with a crowbar and then filled with multipurpose compost method), the seed viability is fine because I've tested them and I have also tried many different varieties, I don't believe it has anything to do with the weather directly.
What finally cracked it for me was looking at the surface of the soil, my lovely finely prepaired seedbed had completely crusted over after watering and then drying out, the poor seedlings didn't stand a chance of breaking through it.

Here's what to do, scrape a drill with your hoe, about 2 or 3 inches deep & the same wide then fill it with multipurpose compost, sow you seed into this, don't be keen to thin them out too soon as the slugs will take a few. This was not my idea originally but was gleaned from advice given by some of the experts on here.

I now have 5 full rows of carrots about 4 inches high even though they are getting baked in this sunshine every day and are only getting watered once a week, better late than never and I shall be using this method for the foreseeable future

[Roy Bham UK]

;) That's the way I have been doing it and I can't remember who advised this method but pretty sure it was someone from this site. ;)

Plus the composted seed drills show you where your seeds are and where the weeds are. :D

Have had 90 plus % germination success this way ;)

[MrsKP]

ahhhhhhhh, i forgot to add that everything i grew this year was in multipurpose as the indigenous ( ???) soil was solid clay.

obviously the way to go.

;D

[OliveOil]

none of my carrots or parsnips germinated!

[umshamrock]

both sewings of parsnips germinated for me (one a normal sewing, one with the dipper-compost method). but now some of the leaves are flopping over everywhere and some others are turning pink! i don't know why...the vegetable and herb expert says the flopping is due to sclerotina rot and the pink leaves to carrot root fly but i haven't really seen signs of either yet so maybe i am in luck?

some of my carrots germinated...but it looks kinda like the leaves grew...but the carrots didn't! i don't really know why...but my soil is kinda clay-ey.

oh and then some jerk pulled out half of my parsnips and carrots last week and stomped all over their beds. i HATE vandals!

[Chantenay]

Thanks everyone for that. I will try Merry Tiller's method next year. It's going to be fun trying to transplant all these rootrained carrots and parsnips!!

[moonbells]

I'd add a word of caution to the sowing in compost method.

I did that the past two years and got fantastic carrots. This year - nothing. Three more sowings, still nothing. Bone dry compost despite watering nightly. Various manufacturers of compost have changed formulation this year to add more renewables and for some reason my carrots hated it. It won't reabsorb water despite supposedly having some wetting agent added. I even tried taking it out, mixing with loads of water and replacing. It dried out in a couple of days.

I think there was also a mollusc problem - the slugs round here have been eating any seedlings they can find. So any that did germinate were promptly mown off.

I have finally got a nice crop coming after spending a lot of money building a 1m² x 20cm raised bed filled with brand new topsoil, sand and a bit of compost just to add a bit more organic matter. And covered _very_ tightly with enviromesh so the larger slugs can't get in easily...

moonbells

[MrsKP]

and the pink leaves to carrot root fly

i've had pink leaves on various different plants, some veggies, some flowers.

taking advice from here I threw some nitrate of soda at them (not literally) plus some lime at the caulis.  not sure if it worked or not, but the caulis tasted ok.

still got a deep pink on my evening primrose (sown this year) which are currently in pots.  one pot being planted out tonight so in a week or so i'll find out if the situation has improved.

didn't seem to be fatal anyways.

;D

[saddad]

So sorry to hear about the vandals Unshamrock.. we are in the high season break in cycle that had left us alone for a couple of years...
I've tried the transplant method but find I get misshape roots, usually very short! Our soil caps very easily, so we use the compost drill technique but it was still a poor season for germination I have a bed with random carrots and parsnips all over the place!

[powerspade]

I`ve been on my pot now for 8 yrs, never had any probem with carrots or parsnips-until this year. Carrots :-all 7 rows through and thinings being used, BUT! parsnips (which I love),  I sowed 6 rows twice and not one blighter came through.

[plot51A]

Have never had any problems getting parsnips to germinate - so far! Usually sow them in March. Last year did some in root trainers - they grew well but when I dug them were very stunted so wouldn't do that again myself. This year have sown in compost drills as recommended on this site - most of the 3 seeds in each site showed so had to snip them out, time will tell how long and straight they are   ::)
Have NEVER had any luck with carrots till this year, but again am now sowing in compost drills and covering with enviromesh and have had fabulous results. Couldn't believe how many carrots I got from the first try, never expected a carrot glut . Have now made 3 sowings, all with same results. On the last sowing tried a row direct into the soil in the same bed just to compare - result: nothing. Have used the local councils free recycled compost and multipurpose - both seemed to work.

[bennettsleg]

We germinated parsnips in the polytunnel in an old piece of drainpipe and had good results.

Planted them out and still doing well so hopefully we'll have a nice crop of them.

Is that an old piece of drainpipe in the same manner as peas ie: cut in half lengthwise? Do you plant them out in the same manner, too?

[Money_Bunny]

We germinated parsnips in the polytunnel in an old piece of drainpipe and had good results.

Planted them out and still doing well so hopefully we'll have a nice crop of them.

Is that an old piece of drainpipe in the same manner as peas ie: cut in half lengthwise? Do you plant them out in the same manner, too?

Yes piece of drainpipe cut in half. Although we only use them till seedlings are strong enough to be planted out. Then slide out and carefully seperate seedlings as desired, and plant.