Nick Maclaren wrote:

snipped
So, it's not likely to work for carrots and parsnips on two grounds,
and it REALLY doesn't work for salsify and scorzonera (even though
they are Compositae, which usually transplant), for the reasons you
give, redoubled in spades and with icing on top.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.
Every spring I start my parsnips in tubes made of newspaper filled with
good seed compost. Two seeds in each tube and pinch out one before
planting out when the plant shows two leaves. I agree with an earlier
posting you need to get them in the ground before the tap root gets to
the bottomof the tube.

I do parsnips this way as they are very long to germinate and seeds
planted in the "wild" often get lost and need thinning out and this
method works well.

I only do this with parnips among the root crops. I've never tried
carrotts and inview of the number of carrotts you would need to plant
out it would be a labour similar to that of the ancient Sisyphus.

Peter
--
It is necessary for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph.

Attributed to Edmund Burke 1729 - 1797