09-05-2004, 05:53 PM
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Registered User
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Apr 2004
Location: essex
Posts: 15
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parsnip seedlings
Quote:
Originally posted by Pat Kiewicz
callie said:
Can anyone tell me what parsnip seedlings look like please! I've just
got a vege patch/allotment going & have never grown parsnips so don't
know what the seedlings look like. At the moment it looks like an
attack of the weeds so i desperately need to know what to pull up &
what not! Please help
The seedlings look more like large parsley seedlings rather than oversized
carrot seedlings. The seed leaves are long ovals. The first true leaf will
resemble a tiny flat-leaved parsley leaf. They are a pale green, not dark and
no reddish or purplish cast on them.
If you've ever seen coriander (cilantro) seedlings they are similar to parsnip.
Parsnips are rather slow to sprout and easily overwhelmed by weed seedlings.
When I grew parsnips, I used to lay the seeds on the soil surface or in slight
depressions and cover them with (weed-free) potting soil, and either covered
everything with a cloth or misted the bed twice a day to keep it moist. Anything
that sprouted away from line of potting soil was definitely a weed -- and anything
that sprouted through the potting soil and looked like something growing in the
bare soil was also a weed.
Keep in mind, unless the parsnip seeds are very fresh they won't sprout at all.
And parsnip seeds are just big enough to attract seed maggots. 8^(
When you are working with a new (to you) seed, plant a small pot of them
in weed-free potting soil to use as a guide to what the seedlings will look like
in the garden.
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)
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