Anyone have Parsnips?

I can't believe I placed my seed orders and forgot to order parsnips this year. They are a veggie who's seed is not viable beyond the current year. I don't care to order just one pck of seeds and then pay a lot for shipping. I only need enuf for 3 squares.
I've tried locally but tho they are selling seeds already, no one has parsnips.
Did you order parsnip seeds this year? Can anyone help me out?

I'm willing to trade for something else you might need. I have all kinds for seeds, from cool broccoli to cukes, to summer tomatoes to fall greens. I even have seeds for small plants for pots; cukes, eggplant, toms, zukes, peppers. Just let me know what you're needing. I may have it to swap.
Please PM me if you can help.
Thanks for checking.
quiltbea

I have had fine success with the off the shelf parsnips. Job Lot had seed 40% off this week.

quiltbea wrote:I can't believe I placed my seed orders and forgot to order parsnips this year. They are a veggie who's seed is not viable beyond the current year. I don't care to order just one pck of seeds and then pay a lot for shipping. I only need enuf for 3 squares.
I've tried locally but tho they are selling seeds already, no one has parsnips.
Did you order parsnip seeds this year? Can anyone help me out?

I'm willing to trade for something else you might need. I have all kinds for seeds, from cool broccoli to cukes, to summer tomatoes to fall greens. I even have seeds for small plants for pots; cukes, eggplant, toms, zukes, peppers. Just let me know what you're needing. I may have it to swap.
Please PM me if you can help.
Thanks for checking.
quiltbea

QB if you have stored them well they can even stretch to three years but the germination will be low
The parsnips you can see in the gallery under " big stuff " are from my two yr old seeds stored in an airtight tube in a cool dark place .
Perhaps do a germination test on a few old seeds if you have any .

plantoid......Thanks for that info. I was always told to toss out old seed because it won't germinate.

I have some from last year so I'll sow several and see what I get this year. Can't hurt if I can't find any fresh otherwise.
Thanks again.

I was just reading the celery thread and your comments and thought am I'm trying to teach my granny to suck eggs /
Then I read what you have just put I have my moments as well

My second year parsnips never do anything either. Maybe David has super parsnips.

QB are you still in need of Parsnips? I have some Hollow Crown I'm willing to share with you. I'll send you a PM.

Yay, Mollyhespera......I PM'd you. I'd love to swap for some of that Anuenue summer crisp lettuce seed you like so much. My Anuenue is still growing well under lights in the house this winter for salads. Soooo good.

Here's to happy seed swapping! I just PM'd you back.

I always listen to a UK BBC radio programme called Gardener´s Question Time (I get it as a podcast). Anyhow, this week's programme had a tip for growing parsnips which was to let the seed germinate on damp kitchen-roll paper (in an airing cupboard which is where the hotwater tank is in a UK house). Then when a root has appeared use tweezers to lift the seeds. Plant three seeds in a peat pot which has had the bottom removed, grow on and plant out when bigger and temperatures are up. Reduce to one seedling once established.
I am trying this as it may solve my short growing season, but I wonder if you could use it to by-pass the low germination problem? The tip also said to wiggle a deep hole in the garden and fill it with a mix of sand and compost (if I recall correctly) but I'm guessing we won't have to worry about that.
I plan on trying open paper tubes rather than peat pots.

Icemaiden.......thanks for the input. I can see that sprouting them first can guarantee that we'll have seeds to grow. That I think is a good idea.
One year I sowed older seeds outdoors and nothing ever grew. I wasted space for a couple of months.
I usually sow mine directly in the garden, since even if they need a long growing season, they can over-winter here in Maine so I have fresh the following spring. But when one questions the viability of the seed, sprouting first sounds like a good idea to try first. Thanks.
Parsnips have such a long tap root that I always stick a metal bar deep into the soil (more than a foot) and twist it around a few times to loosen the soil under where the root will grow.