If I open a packet of parsnip seeds and do not use all of them. Will I be able to use them at a later date?

"the swede" wrote in message
...
:
: If I open a packet of parsnip seeds and do not use all of them. Will I
: be able to use them at a later date?

Parsnips are renowned for their poor germination rate and the longer you
keep them the more they deteriorate. Better to get fresh seed if you meant
to keep them for a good while in spite of the distant 'use by date' that I
see is even on parsnip packets these days.

www.rraa.moonfruit.com

"the swede" wrote in message
...

If I open a packet of parsnip seeds and do not use all of them. Will I
be able to use them at a later date?

I planted some this year that I'd opened two years ago. They came up fine.
We have a good crop. In fact I noticed on the packet it said to sow them
thickly, enough seed for 20 feet or similar length row. I did the opposite
and sowed them individually a couple of inches apart over 6 rows 20 feet
long. Really good crop.

Sometimes the instructions on the seed packets are so wasteful, suggesting
you sow much thicker than necessary then to thin them out later. Why? I'd
sooner get more crops with less seed and no thinning.
--
David
.... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
.... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/

"David (in Normandy)" wrote in
message ...
"the swede" wrote in message
...

If I open a packet of parsnip seeds and do not use all of them. Will I
be able to use them at a later date?

I planted some this year that I'd opened two years ago. They came up fine.
We have a good crop. In fact I noticed on the packet it said to sow them
thickly, enough seed for 20 feet or similar length row. I did the opposite
and sowed them individually a couple of inches apart over 6 rows 20 feet
long. Really good crop.

Sometimes the instructions on the seed packets are so wasteful, suggesting
you sow much thicker than necessary then to thin them out later. Why? I'd
sooner get more crops with less seed and no thinning.
--
David
... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/

Yes, and they also suggest sow very early and we get a much better
germination if we wait for April, the crop is very good even with this
"late" sowing ours are typically about 18" long and take a bit of lifting!

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collections of Clematis viticella (cvs) and
Lapageria rosea

"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message
Yes, and they also suggest sow very early and we get a much better
germination if we wait for April, the crop is very good even with this
"late" sowing ours are typically about 18" long and take a bit of lifting!
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.

Wow! I planted mine in April and while germination is very good mine are not
so big :-(
I'm too embarrassed to say how long they are. Though they do say it isn't
the size that matters.
I've certainly made up for it in quantity if not size.

The problem with mine is possibly due to the soil - only a month before it
was unkempt lawn until I rotovated it and I hadn't had time to add any
organic matter to it. They haven't had any fertiliser either.
What soil conditions do you have and how do you treat them to get such long
ones?
--
David
.... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
.... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/

"David in Normandy" wrote in message
...

"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message
Yes, and they also suggest sow very early and we get a much better
germination if we wait for April, the crop is very good even with this
"late" sowing ours are typically about 18" long and take a bit of
lifting!
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.

Wow! I planted mine in April and while germination is very good mine are
not so big :-(
I'm too embarrassed to say how long they are. Though they do say it isn't
the size that matters.
I've certainly made up for it in quantity if not size.

The problem with mine is possibly due to the soil - only a month before it
was unkempt lawn until I rotovated it and I hadn't had time to add any
organic matter to it. They haven't had any fertiliser either.
What soil conditions do you have and how do you treat them to get such
long ones?
--
David
... Email address on website http://www.avisoft.co.uk
... Blog at http://dlts-french-adventures.blogspot.com/



I think all these root crops need a light soil. I have heavy clay soil and
wouldn't bother trying to grow carrots or parsnips without creating a
special area of lighter soil for them to grow in. That or make special
tapered holes for them to be planted in, filled with sandy compost or
what-have-you.

Andy.

I think all these root crops need a light soil. I have heavy clay soil and
wouldn't bother trying to grow carrots or parsnips without creating a
special area of lighter soil for them to grow in. That or make special
tapered holes for them to be planted in, filled with sandy compost or
what-have-you.

I'm on pretty heavy clay/soil and while I can "improve" a bed each year
for successfully growing parsnips, carrots completely defeat me. Parsnips
are relatively easy.

Robert wrote:

"the swede" wrote in message
...
:
: If I open a packet of parsnip seeds and do not use all of them.
Will I
: be able to use them at a later date?

Parsnips are renowned for their poor germination rate and the longer
you
keep them the more they deteriorate. Better to get fresh seed if you
meant
to keep them for a good while in spite of the distant 'use by date'
that I
see is even on parsnip packets these days.

I've posted this already, but because of some bug in my newsreader it
came out in the wrong thread. Sorry!

Last year I sowed some old parsnip seeds in toilet roll tubes in the
greenhouse (it's much more reliable to sow indoors than to sow straight
into the garden). The three-year-old 'Tender and True' did not
germinate at all; the two-year-old F1 'Gladiator' germinated very well.

Rhiannon