Spring arrives - but watch out for frosts

Well maybe my green fingers are still a bit pale at the moment. 14 parsnips seedlings have come up out of 49! That's not a very good return by anyone's standard.

You see that's the thing with gardening. Not everything is going to grow, and its no big deal really you just try some other varieties or plant a bit later. There could be simple reasons for poor returns - ambient temperature too low or just poor seeds. When some new shoots do start to appear then its all worthwhile.

Its time to move onto some other veggies I think. I planted some little gem lettuce seeds and most are coming up - a much better return. Also the leeks I planted over a month ago are starting to show in the seed tray - maybe we will have some winter vegetables after all! Just got to plant some kale seeds next.

We're in the middle of March now and temperatures are slowly climbing, but we are not past the last frosts yet. So potato will have to stay another couple of weeks chitting. But I think some more seeds can safely be sown. This means I still have a little bit of time left to tidy up and get the beds ready for April. And I mustn't forget the chicken coop - I'll be starting to build that in a couple of weeks time, I just need to finish the groundwork and there has been plenty of that to do I can assure you.

Woot - Parsnips Have Germinated

6days have passed. Time for bed, but I nearly forgot my daily check on the parsnips seeds.

I'll need my glasses, as I don't want to miss any changes....

Well the seeds are starting to sprout. I read in one of the URLs (Medwyn Williams I think) he doesn't wait this long before planting into compost, so have I left it a day or 2 too long?

Nothing I can do about it, tomorrow morning I have a job to transfer pretty sharpish the seeds into compost.

So what next?

Plant the seeds into toilet tubes, if I run out then I'll just make up some newspaper tubes of the same length. I'll water well and leave on the window sill until I see the shoots emerge. Now this time I really must not leave them too long before planting out. The tap root needs to be nice and straight and not hit the bottom and start wandering sideways. So I need to time it carefully and make sure they have a few days hardening off in the cold frame before planting out into the ground.

Nearly forgot as well - I also better try out the planking technique and sowing straight into the ground.

Watch this space for feedback

Parsnips

Nearly Valentine's Day, and I'm thinking about parsnips....

Anyway this is the first time I'll be planting parsnips and there are two reasons for this; 1) Roast parsnips are delicious, 2) I wanted something that would be growing during the winter months when not a lot else is in the ground.

So off I went to find out about what I might expect, how to avoid mistakes and increase my chances of success. Forking - just what I need to avoid. Apparently this can occur by growing in very fertile (particularly well manured) soil, or in stony soil which causes the root to change direction and/or fork.

So first off, the beds I've chosen haven't been heavily composted so should be ok - not too rich. Also the soil in the beds has been dug over and has very few stones so I'm hoping I should be ok on the forked root front.

Next parsnip seeds do not keep - so I have a new pack ready and shall renew each season.

One thing I have read is that parsnips do not necessarily germinate well. So how do I avoid this as much as possible? Any ideas, do you have any tips and experience to share?

I did a bit of research and found 2 possible solutions; 'chitting' the seeds and planking.

Chitting
Chitting the parsnip seeds is basically putting them on damp tissue and making sure it doesn't dry out while the seeds get to the point of germinating. Keep the seeds in a moderately warm place. So I'll give this one a go and I'll also plant on into toilet roll tubes after they are chitted to try and give them a headstart indoors before planting out.

Planking
Planking involves putting a length of wood, say about 100mm wide on top of the seed drill after sowing to ensure the ground doesn't dry out in the first 3 weeks when germination takes place. Dry soil being the big factor to inhibiting germination. In theory, under the wood there will be no dryness. Keep the plank there and start checking for signs of germination from 20days onwards. So I'll give this one a go aswell - I don't have enough loo roll tubes for the lot! ;-)

I'll start probably next week on the chitting and week after sowing and planking - let's see what happens

Here are some reference URLs I have found that maybe useful;

Basic parsnip growing guidance
http://www.gardeningpatch.com/vegetable/growing-parsnip.aspx

More detail on the preparation and sowing
http://www.garden-grower.com/growing-vegetables/parsnip.shtml

Seed Chitting
http://deehaigh.co.uk/dee/allotment/growing-parsnips-my-way/
http://www.nvsuk.org.uk/medwyn-williams-vegetable-grow-show-138.html

Planking
http://www.nvsuk.org.uk/growing_show_vegetables_1/germinate-parsnip.php


Time flies............


Well valentines day came and went and the parsnips are now germinating - chitting is underway.

I have placed the seeds on a wet paper napkin in a plastic lunchbox about 6 days ago and left on the windowsill.

I shall be keeping a check each day, taking the lid off.

So far, not much sign of life yet, but maybe it is still early days, but will keep posted on progress.

A bit of luck I expect to pot up into the toilet roll tubes within the next week.

Year 3 here we come....

Last year was good fun, I really got a lot more beds planted and started getting some useful return, plus some experience on growing new things. It was the first time I have grown potatoes - what amazing vegetables. They came up in abundance after planting in a piece of ground that only a few months earlier was covered in nettles and brambles. They tasted wonderful, completely different from shop bought, and digging them up for the first time was like discovering buried treasure. A splendid bounty along with the onions lasted us well into November - a big hit all round. This year I will grow 2 lots, second earlies and main crop - let's see how they go.

So now we are into year 3 of the garden. The shed windows are finally in place and the potatoes are chitting. I have now built a useful coldframes from spare wood and leftover glass, so time to be a bit more adventurous. Peppers - sweet and chilli and various saladings under glass. Digging up some more ground to expand the range of veggies - sweetcorn and broccoli plus some useful winter crops - kale, pasnips and leeks.

It also looks like we may also be getting some 'livestock'... 'What about some chickens', sure why not I replied. 2 weeks later - 'I have spoken to the lady, we'll get some ex-battery hens around Easter time'.

So busy times lay ahead - chicken run to be prepared and a coop to build... Should be fun!