Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:174903

: I was thinking of clearing out some old seeds, but wondered if it
: wasn't worth just giving them a last chance to sprout in some compost
: in my (unheated) green house. Questions:
:
: What chance have two year old parsnips and leeks of sprouting?
:
: Is there a size above which it becomes infeasible to transplant
: parsnip seedlings? (I once read that you shouldn't be able to
: transplant root vergetable seedlings, but I managed okay this year
: with swedes and beetroot)
:
: Will seeds planted this early 'get ahead of themselves' and tend to
: go to seed?
:
: Tim Lund, SE London, clay based soil

Parsnips are very poor germinators at the best of times and their
germination rate diminishes quickly, the longer they are kept. It is not
advisable to transplant parsnips, better to sow a few in situ and pull out
any extras that you get in the same place. I found like you that beetroot do
well from transplanting but I think transplanting parsnips is pushing it a
bit, but, you never know, they have two choices if you want to try it