Hi,
I have been given a packet of my late father's parsnip seeds. I have
always been told that parsnips can't be stored from year to year.

The date on the packet says year end sept 2008.

Is this this year's seed and I can use it as normal next year?

Can parsnips be sowed in the autumn and overwintered?

thanks

dan

Dan Smithers writes
Hi,
I have been given a packet of my late father's parsnip seeds. I have
always been told that parsnips can't be stored from year to year.

They have a short shelf life, so germination rate may be low. If you
have the space, sow it, but perhaps a bit more thickly than normal.


--
Kay

"K" wrote in message
...
Dan Smithers writes
Hi,
I have been given a packet of my late father's parsnip seeds. I have
always been told that parsnips can't be stored from year to year.

They have a short shelf life, so germination rate may be low. If you have
the space, sow it, but perhaps a bit more thickly than normal.


--
Kay

....and ideally they are sown in March/April time when the ground has warmed
up

"Robert (Plymouth)" wrote in message
...


"K" wrote in message
...
Dan Smithers writes
Hi,
I have been given a packet of my late father's parsnip seeds. I have
always been told that parsnips can't be stored from year to year.

They have a short shelf life, so germination rate may be low. If you have
the space, sow it, but perhaps a bit more thickly than normal.


--
Kay

...and ideally they are sown in March/April time when the ground has
warmed up
Parsnip seeds can rot in cold wet soil, giving the impression of poor
germination. I pre-germinate mine by putting them in a covered tray with
damp tissue in the bottom. Then when there's a 1/4" of shoot, plant the
germinated seed. Doing it this way I finished a packet of seeds this year
that was 5 years old.


Another good wheeze is to plant them in a cone of good compost made by
inserting a metal rod into the soil and working it round in a circle, then
filling the hole with good compost.

Steve

Parsnips have to be sown in spring for use in the subsequent winter. They are chancy to germinate, and new seed is advised.

See he http://www.vegetable-gardens.co.uk/guides/Parsnips.htm

The message
from Dan Smithers contains these words:

I have been given a packet of my late father's parsnip seeds. I have
always been told that parsnips can't be stored from year to year.

I've planted parsnip seeds that were five years old, and they (or at
least, some of them) grew OK.

The date on the packet says year end sept 2008.

Is this this year's seed and I can use it as normal next year?

Probably last year's seed.

Can parsnips be sowed in the autumn and overwintered?

Yes - protected from frost. It used to be said that parsnipe were best
when they'd been frosted. We haven't had any really hard frosts (here)
recently.

--
Rusty
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