In My Seed Box for 2027 - Parsnips

   

I do love my Parsnips, they were however a bit of a failure in 2024 when the slugs and snails wiped out all 105 seedlings and I didn't get around to growing them in 2025 or 2026.

In 2026 I was hoping to repeating the success of 2016 & 2017 and have a full 2.4m x 1.2m beds worth that will be using the 105-hole planting membrane. That sadly didn't happen so now I'm hoping for a bed on Plot 1 and one in the Back Garden Allotment in 2027 

I have bought a pack of 250 seeds of Gladiator F1 from Seed Megastore for £1.59 for 2027 for Parsnips on plot 1 and my new Back Garden Allotment 

                                                   

In the past I have grown :-

Gladiator F1

Student  

Tender and True 

                                           Sow                            Harvest

Tender and True     Mid Feb - End May            Oct - Mid Feb 

Gladiator F1           Mid Feb - End May            Oct - Mid Feb 

Student                  Mid Feb - End May            Oct - Mid Feb 

Traditional sowing thinly in rows 400mm apart and cover with 13mm of fine soil firm gently and keep moist.

Germination seedlings appear 14 - 32 days 

Protect early sowings with cloches if soil is cold and wet

leave roots in the ground as flavour is improved by frost. leave remaining roots in February and store undamaged roots in sand in a dry frost-free area or process and freeze.    

I'm going to try chitting and growing in kitchen towel & loo rolls early as well as direct sowing in 2027. 

What Varieties do you grow and had the most success with?

When do you sow your Parsnips?

Do you chit the seeds or Sow Direct?

In My Seed Box For 2027 - Index

In My Seed Box for 2026 - Parsnips

   

I do love my Parsnips, they were however a bit of a failure in 2024 when the slugs and snails wiped out all 105 seedlings and I didn't get around to growing them in 2025.

In 2026 I'm looking forward to repeating the success of 2016 & 2017 and have a full 2.4m x 1.2m beds worth that will be using the 105-hole planting membrane. 

                                                    

I have not bought any Parsnip seeds yet, as I want nice new fresh seed for next year. the varieties I have grown in the past include Tender and True, Student and my favourite is Gladiator F1 

                                           Sow                            Harvest

Tender and True     Mid Feb - End May            Oct - Mid Feb 

Gladiator F1           Mid Feb - End May            Oct - Mid Feb 

Student                  Mid Feb - End May            Oct - Mid Feb 

Traditional sowing thinly in rows 400mm apart and cover with 13mm of fine soil firm gently and keep moist.

Germination seedlings appear 14 - 32 days 

Protect early sowings with cloches if soil is cold and wet

leave roots in the ground as flavour is improved by frost. leave remaining roots in February and store undamaged roots in sand in a dry frost-free area or process and freeze.    

I'm going to try chitting and growing in kitchen towel & loo rolls early as well as direct sowing in 2026. 

What Varieties do you grow and had the most success with?

When do you sow your Parsnips?

Do you chit the seeds or Sow Direct?

In My Seed Box For 2026 - Index

Potting On Germinated Parsnip Seeds

Parsnips have started to germinate in the three Chinese takeaway containers on damp kitchen roll, so its time to fill those toilet roll cardboard tubes and get transplanting the seeds with little roots showing. This will now be a daily exercise until I have 210 of them. Then I may do another 105 and have a third bed of parsnips this year.

The Lidl trays with modules are an ideal size for the cardboard toilet rolls

I stuck the small coke bottle in a loo roll marked the bottle with a Sharpe and then cut just below the line so the bottle sits nice and snug on top of the roll. I then made another cut further up the bottle. It works so well as a funnel to get the compost into the toilet roll. 

And with an appropriate sized scoop we are off

The coke bottle funnel is a game changer and makes filling the cardboard tubes nice and easy

Lets play a game of spot the roots

The arrowed seeds are what we are ideally looking for to transplant into the top of the cardboard toilet rolls filled with compost. The circled seed the root is just about acceptable, but way too long really. Now I have spotted germination I will be looking for short roots on the seeds and transplanting them on a daily basis.  

I made a depression (hole) in the middle of each tube ready to transplant the seed with root down into the compost.

What you couldn't see them in the last picture? Here is a better view 

And after transplanting 16 seeds with roots into the toilet rolls it was time to water using another small coke bottle with five small holes drilled in the cap. The water shows in the cardboard tube.

Here is what's left to keep an eye on daily for the next transplanting sessions

The 16 cardboard tubes on the right of the tray are now nicely damp and indicating they have been adequately watered in. Another tray of toilet rolls is ready for the next couple of days of transplanting.

Parsnip Trial

I thought I had the parsnip covered for 2024. My daughters and I decided we would increase from one 2.4m x 1.2m bed using 105 hole planting membrane to 2 beds of 105 planting membrane, in fact Kelly said we should try and do another bed and we eat a lot of parsnips during the year. 

I have been sent Organic Parsnip Guernsey 1 by Organic Gardening which is a heritage French parsnip dating from 1826, that they have added to their catalogue for 2024. 

Currently being sold at £2.99 for 340 seeds

The web site states "This ‘Half Long’ variety has broad shoulders and shorter roots that are a good choice for shallow or stony soils. Good yields of smooth white roots with a sweet flavour. Excellent for roasting. Height: 45cm (18in). Spread: 30cm (12in)."

Dobies have also sent me a new parsnip to trial this year from their 2024 catalogue called Sabre F1 which is from the same breeder as the popular ‘Gladiator’, which is the parsnip I had the best results with last year and that I have already purchased in two forms 

Parsnip ‘Sabre’ is destined to be a show bench winner. Long, very white, smooth-skinned roots with a great flavour. Good resistance to canker. Height: 45cm (18in). Spread: 30cm (12in).

The current RRP is £2.49 for 200 seeds but it's currently on offer for 89p 

So my cunning plan is to germinate all three varieties and do a bit of a comparison between them in terms of germination rates and final quality of the parsnips grown.

In My Seed Box for 2024 - Parsnips

   

In 2023 I ended up growing nearly a full bed of Parsnips, didn't quite get the full 105 but 96 was close enough.  After discussions with my daughters we have decided to grow two full beds of parsnips using the germinate on damp kitchen roll in a Chinese take-a-way container and transplant into a loo roll technique.

The 105 sheet planting membrane will be used again in 2024, as the spacing of the planting holes gives reasonable sized roots.  

In 2023 I grew Tender and True, Gladiator F1 and Student. The germination rates in the Tender & True & Student were not good, but the Gladiator F1 was, so that's what I'm going to grow in 2024. 

So my mission for this morning was to see what the differences are between number of seeds and price per pack from all the UK seed companies I have listed on the left margin at manvslug.uk  

.

Parsnip Gladiator F1 has become an established leading early to mature variety. The smooth skinned roots that is easy to peel, and because most of the parsnip flavour is just behind the surface, it keeps more of its delightful really sweet flavour and a bonus is that this variety is canker resistant. 

Parsnips generally get sweeter after a frost because freezing converts part of the starch into sugar.

Germination seedlings appear 14 - 32 days 

Protect early sowings with cloches if soil is cold and wet

leave roots in the ground as flavour is improved by frost. leave remaining roots in February and store undamaged roots in sand in a dry frost-free area or process and freeze.    

Varieties Grown over the last 10 years 

Gladiator F1

Palace F1

Picador F1

Student  

Tender and True

TZ 9045 F1

White Gem

Warrior F1  

Questions

        

What Varieties do you grow and had the most success with?

When do you sow your Parsnips?

Do you chit the seeds or Sow Direct?

In My Seed Box For 2024 - Index

96 Parsnips Planted

Emma and I had a good morning on the allotment, I finished building the staging in the potting shed and she planted 96 parsnips in 105 hole planting membrane.

Later in the day I returned and had a tidy up of the spoil from the bulb planter and sprinkle of coffee grounds on the bed and then covered with hoops and debris netting to protect from the foxes.

I also set up the watering system again and tried a direct line rather than the buried pipe.

Radish covered with hoops and netting.

Grapevines watered.

Parsnips and the Boundary Beds

This morning I picked up some daffodils and iris plants in the green off Freecycle and proceeded to plant them in the border boundary beds.  

Thus having just got them spread out and planted the sky became very overcast so I retreated to the potting shed 

It was an absolute joy to finally have the Forest Garden Potting Shed on the plot where I can now shelter and continue working, and so I moved on to planting germinated parsnip seeds.  

I have found that growing or rather transplanting germinated seeds into loo rolls is the best way to succeed with parsnips.

Placing seed on damp kitchen towel in Chinese takeaway containers and just keeping an eye for root growth and transplanting them to the loo roll before the roots get to curly is key. 

Different varieties germinate at different rates, all of these boxes were started off at the same time. 

In My Seed Box for 2023 - Parsnips

  

Parsnips were a bit of a failure in 2018 and didn't happen in 2019 due to my leg injury. I managed to get some parsnips sown on the allotment in 2020 before the Covid-19 put us into shielding. 

I'm looking forward to repeating the success of 2016 & 2017 and have a full 2.4m x 1.2m beds worth in 2023 and that will be using the 105-hole planting membrane. 

All seeds bought at wilko in their ^50% off seed sale, as I would rather pay 50% and get what I want, rather than wait for the 10p & 20p sale and find what I wanted has sold out! 

                                                    R.R.P

Tender and True   - 500 Seeds - £1.50^ - Johnsons - Sow By 2025

Gladiator F1         - 200 Seeds - £1.50^ - Wilko       - Sow By Dec 2026

Student                - 400 Seeds -      75p^ - Wilko       - Sow By Dec 2026

Student                - 400 Seeds -      75p^ - Wilko       - Sow By Dec 2026

                                           Sow                            Harvest

Tender and True     Mid Feb - End May            Oct - Mid Feb 

Gladiator F1           Mid Feb - End May            Oct - Mid Feb 

Student                  Mid Feb - End May            Oct - Mid Feb 

Traditional sowing thinly in rows 400mm apart and cover with 13mm of fine soil firm gently and keep moist.

Germination seedlings appear 14 - 32 days 

Protect early sowings with cloches if soil is cold and wet

leave roots in the ground as flavour is improved by frost. leave remaining roots in February and store undamaged roots in sand in a dry frost-free area or process and freeze.    

I'm going to try chitting and growing in kitchen towel & loo rolls early as well as direct sowing in 2023. 

What Varieties do you grow and had the most success with?

When do you sow your Parsnips?

Do you chit the seeds or Sow Direct?

In My Seed Box For 2023 - Index

Parsnips Away. . . .

That's about 300 ish Suttons F1 Warrior Parsnips on damp kitchen towel in Chinese takeaway containers now under the stairs in the dark which will be checked daily.

As the seeds germinate they will be transferred into waiting loo rolls filled with sieved soil, before being put into this years parsnip bed.

Going for the full 105 hole planting membrane this year if possible.

I also managed to trim the grass in the back garden today before it started to rain.

In My Seed Box for 2022 - Parsnips

 

Parsnips were a bit of a failure in 2018 and didn't happen in 2019 due to my leg injury. I managed to get some parsnips sown on the allotment in 2020 before the Covid-19 put us into shielding, So I'm looking forward to repeating the success of 2016 & 2017 and have a full 2.4m x 1.2m beds worth in 2022 that's 105/ 6 varieties = so that's 17 to 18 per variety if they all germinate.

Bought by my sister in a Speedy Seed variety pack - Hollow Crown 

New for 2022 - Warrior F1 - Suttons - 17 50 81 - 350 Seeds - £2.99 

Parsnip 'Warrior F1' proved to be a fantastic performer during its time at the trial grounds and is a British bred variety. It grows flavoursome, chunky, gradually tapering roots that measure up to a whopping 28cm (11”) in length. However, if you prefer even larger roots, just leave them to grow on!

As it says in the name, this parsnip is a strong, sturdy and reliable warrior that is also known for its resistance to root canker and holds its healthy foliage with pride. If you like your parsnips sweet, a good tactic is to leave the roots in the ground to get ‘kissed’ by the frost. The roots will continue to keep well in the ground, and these crops taste amazing when served up with a Sunday roast or left in the slow cooker for winter warming soups.

Sow thinly into a finely raked, warm, moist soil at a depth of 10mm in rows 300mm apart. (Germination up to 28 days). Thin Seedlings to 150mm between plants. best grown in well-cultivated soil which has not been recently manured, otherwise roots can fork and twist. Frosts sweeten the flavour, so only lift roots as you need them.

Already in the Seed Box 

Tender and True   - 350 Seeds - £2.09 - Johnsons - Seeds By 2022
White Gem           - 300 Seeds - £1.00 - Wilko               - Sow By 2022
Picador F1  - 200 Seeds - £2.10 - Mr Fothergill's - Sow by Dec 2023

TZ 9045 F1 - 200 Seeds - £1.99 - D.T.Brown - Sow By Dec 2022

Warrior        - 350 Seeds - £2.99 - Suttons - Sow By Jan/2024

Picador F1 - A remarkably vigorous variety producing high quality, smooth white roots that are long in length. This hybrid is exceptionally clean and high yielding. Resistant to canker and has an excellent flavour. Winner of an RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Parsnip TZ9045 F1 - This exclusive new variety from D.T.Brown has caused quite a stir with their friends from the NVS (National Vegetable Society). It has the cleanest, whitest skin of any parsnip currently available and stays white even on the showbench - highly recommended by renowned parsnip grower Jim Pearson. With a harvest period of almost six months, this exclusive parsnip yields long, well-filled roots with a superbly sweet flavour.  Similar in shape to the renowned Gladiator F1, it's resistance to canker too.

I'm going to try chitting and growing in kitchen towel & loo rolls early as well as direct sowing in 2021, I'm looking to fill a 2.4x1.2m Bed with just Parsnips if I can. 

What Varieties do you grow and had the most success with ?

When do you sow your Parsnips?

Do you chit the seeds or Sow Direct ?

In My Seed Box For 2022 - Index

Parsnip Germination Race

Let the 2nd Parsnip Germination Race begin:-

 The objective is to fill a 2.4m x 1.2m bed with 105 parsnips!