Growing parsnips / carrots from seed trays??

morebabies

Hi

I currently grow our broccoli and cauiflower from seed trays but not the root vegetables as I thought this was a big no-no, because disturbing the root can disrupt the root growth and make the veg fork.

But 2 different local garden centres (Mayo) to me are now selling parsnips and carrots as seedlings a few inches high in standard seed trays.

If this would work I'd do it for our own garden, maybe I'm the fool here that should have been doing this all along. Can anyone enlighten me please?

Thanks.

peter bermingham

For carrots their best done from seed in the ground not trays they don't work to well from seed trays. Reason they fork is soil is to rich don't manure the soil and rake it out until its very fine and you should be fine would do the same with me parsnips. Unless they are selling some new breed off both that work from trays. Witch is quite possible these days, best way is try both ways but i would go for seed into the ground. That's the way i was taught in the organic center rossinver last year. I take it your on about the two outside castlebar i might just go over for a look and quiz them on how they work from trays

redser7

I've seen that too and was puzzled. I wouldn't buy tem. If the root has hit the bottom of the cell then it will start to cycle, like any root. You won't get straight veg.
You can try grow them in toilet roll inners. But you need to get them in the ground before the roots emerge from the bottom. I've done this successfully. But those cells they are using in garden centres are too shallow.
Unless! They are a stump variety ...

morebabies

peter bermingham wrote: »

For carrots their best done from seed in the ground not trays they don't work to well from seed trays. Reason they fork is soil is to rich don't manure the soil and rake it out until its very fine and you should be fine would do the same with me parsnips. Unless they are selling some new breed off both that work from trays. Witch is quite possible these days, best way is try both ways but i would go for seed into the ground. That's the way i was taught in the organic center rossinver last year. I take it your on about the two outside castlebar i might just go over for a look and quiz them on how they work from trays

Thanks, that's what I thought, thanks. They're actually 2 different places in Claremorris, and I think I will ask because I am totally perplexed, especially because the seedling tops coming out of the top of the pot were pretty big and well developed.

peter bermingham

Ya i would stay away from them potted carrots Jesus they will try anything to make a few bob

j@utis

maybe those carrot are of this variety:


Last year I tried starting early beetroot in this type of seed trays:

They were doing fine while in the tray but they really didn't like the whole transplanting thing. I wouldn't do it again. I'll be sowing them straight into the ground in the middle of may. I wouldn't bother with carrots at all unless I had a lot of land. They're dirt cheep in the supermarkets.