Parsnips

[rowbow]

I have been having problems with my parsnips germinating this year, planted in situ twice, only six have come up in a 5 mtr row, others on the allotment have had the same problems, with this year's seed, I think I will put some in toilet rolls for a late crop.
I suppose the seed supplied, could have been from GM crops, unbeknown by the supplier? 

[rowbow]

[BarriedaleNick]

Doubtful that it is GM and even if it were it should still germinate.  I actually got good germination this year but it does take 3 or 4 weeks but parsnip germination has been an ongoing conversation on here.  They can be very tricky.

[johhnyco15]

indeed barriedaleNick  same as you excellent germination and i only sow a single seed 2"apart i would say 100% three gaps i had, the next parsnip in the row then 2 came up so it must have got stuck to my fingers  and one row was out of date seed by 2 years so now i have 4 rows of parsnips i didnt think i had a chance of any coming up in that row however as you said it did take 3 weeks to germinate

[Pescador]

Nothing to do with GM. Can't image any of the multi-nationals spending a fortune to modify such a minor crop!

[Paulh]

Johnny, your fingers are so green I think you could plant a empty seed packet and get a good crop from it!

[Plot22]

For the second year running I have set Gladiator parsnips but with pelleted seeds. Again for the second year 100% germination, None of this chitting of fly away seeds but as a back up I did chit one dish of normal parsnip seeds but fortunately they were not needed.

[Silverleaf]

I actually sowed last year's seeds this year, figuring I had nothing to lose and that I could always buy a fresh pack and resow later when they inevitably failed.

What do you know, loads of them germinated! Don't need to buy more at all. No idea why that happened...

[small]

I wasn't sure whether to grow parsnips this year, I have such trouble harvesting and preparing them, and I can't actually taste the difference from bought ones (oh, I know mine are organic etc, but life's about compromise), but i found some saved seed from three years ago. Give it a try, I thought, sow really thickly and see if anything comes, now i have a thriving row of parsnips that I will have to thin out considerably!
Whoever said gardening was predictable.

[rowbow]

Thanks for replies.As I have been led to believe, F1/GM crops do not produce a viable seed, GM seeds are sold to farmers, but they are unable to save a percentage of the crop to re-sow, so they purchase more seed from the supplier.

[BarriedaleNick]

F1s do produce viable seed but they may not produce anything like the original F1.  So if you buy Sungold toms and save then plant the resulting seed you won't get Sungold.  Well you might get something like it or you may get something that looks like one of the progenitors or a mix between them. Some folks on here have done exactly that - trying to back cross Sungold to get a stable version you can save seed from.  It's a tough ask and needs patience.
GM is different but they can and do produce viable seed- however there are no commercial GM crops in the UK  and as far as I can see no GM parsnips anywhere.  The issue with GM seeds is that often they are illegal to sow - the terms and conditions often prohibit the farmer collecting and planting seeds

From http://www.monsanto.com/food-inc/pages/seed-saving-and-legal-activities.aspx

"In agriculture plants and seeds with enhanced traits or genetics may be patent protected. This is true in the U.S. for plant varieties as well as biotech innovations.  Monsanto is one of many seed companies that patent their innovations.  Growers who purchase our patented seeds sign a Monsanto Technology/Stewardship Agreement — an agreement that specifically addresses the obligations of both the grower and Monsanto and governs the use of the harvested crop.  The agreement specifically states that the grower will not save or sell the seeds from their harvest for further planting, breeding or cultivation."

[Digeroo]

Hardly any germination at all from my packet sowings in fact only two.  But have large numbers of volunteers, which seem to be doing well, so I have parsnips in random positions all over the plot.  Dug one up yesterday by mistake while I was weeding and there was a nice root.

F1 parsnips certainly produce viable seed. 

I wish Monsanto did as much to protect others from their pollen as they do to protect their products.

[Silverleaf]

If GM crops didn't produce viable seed, Monsanto wouldn't bother making farmers sign a "don't save seeds" agreement!

You might be thinking of "terminator" seeds which are genetically modified to make the resulting plants infertile so you CAN'T save seeds because they either don't produce any or only make non-viable seeds.