How long do celery and salsify take to germinate?

[Millymollymandy]

Thanks you two especially Susie - you're having a laugh aren't you, with my dry garden? I will water it a lot but I have a feeling it may not be enough, but I wanted to try growing it anyway. It's good to try new things.

[Odsox]

Here comes a "did you know" ...

Did you know that celery is a descended from a marginal swamp plant, so as Susie says, no good for dry sandy soil.

[Millymollymandy]

Oh will that be my bog celery then that, along with bog rhubarb, grows in all our ditches/streams here? Must admit the names of aforementioned plants are our own made up names! Well we'll see and I'll report back on progress.

[Odsox]

Anyone know if they are the same family and likely to cross as I normally seed save parsnip?

Sorry Peggy, I missed this question.
AFAIK salsify and scorzonera are part of the aster family and parsnip of course is from the parsley/carrot family, so no chance at all of cross pollinating.
Watch out for cow parsley and hogweed growing nearby though, as they could well cross with parsnips.

[Millymollymandy]

Just for the records there are signs of life from the celery seed sown on top of the soil in a seed tray. However given the size of the seedlings I know that I would never in a million years want to try to prick them out!!!!!

Of course I've now seen 6" high celery plants for sale in both the garden centre and our village market's plant stall since waiting for mine to do something.

[chadspad]

Wish I'd read the tip about germinating the sweetcorn earlier (joins M3 in some headbanging!). Ive had a really poor germination rate this year. From 1 packet of 75 seeds I got 3 plants - seems such a waste. Mind you, lots of things have been a struglle this year except for the things in my conservatory which are growing like mad. I left a butternut squash seed in there and it has a fruit on it already whereas all the others that I put out are teenytiny still.

[Peggy Sue]

Yo stranger, I have some pretty red orach in my veg patch which is going in salads, tastes like shite (grass/hay) on its own but is lovely in a mixed leaf salad. Thanks mate!

Very pretty that purple stuff but a bit rubbery I guess, good to use as spiniach in lasagne and things or get the leaves really small and mix with other salad!

Thinks there's now purple stuff on everyone's allotment here...they were all quite keen as it is pretty but by god does it self seed efficiently!!

Your dill actually looks like it's going to live- wow! And the potimarrons are enjoying huge amounts of horse poo Can't wait to sample both

[Millymollymandy]

Oh I'm so pleased, my spud patch is choka full of self seeded dill and coriander and hopefully next year red orach too (and borage which I'm growing for the first time here because I WANT it to self seed everywhere in the flower beds ) so next year we will have similar looking veg patches. Cos the potimarrons self seed all over the ruddy place too including flower beds. Good luck with them.

[Millymollymandy]

Bum, something has been eating those tiny weeny little celery seedlings. They are just getting a first leaf but if any more get eaten I will have to prick out and use the ones in the propagator, which I'm not looking forward to. I would need a serious magnifying glass to do that job.

[Odsox]

Not really, if you wait till there are two true leaves on each seedling, it's just about do-able.
PLUS ... I was always told that females are better at pricking out because they have more patience and a steadier hand.
So is that an old wives tale ... or in this case an old granddad's tale ?

[Millymollymandy]

I think it is because generally we have smaller hands than men do.

[Peggy Sue]

Thanks you two especially Susie - you're having a laugh aren't you, with my dry garden? I will water it a lot but I have a feeling it may not be enough, but I wanted to try growing it anyway. It's good to try new things.

If it's a well drained garden you HAVE to grow asparagus! it survives with no watering at all in sandy soil- but be warned if you do it from seed it takes even longer than celery to germinate
And that purple orach will be fne in dry conditions too.

[Peggy Sue]

Anyone know if they are the same family and likely to cross as I normally seed save parsnip?

Sorry Peggy, I missed this question.
AFAIK salsify and scorzonera are part of the aster family and parsnip of course is from the parsley/carrot family, so no chance at all of cross pollinating.
Watch out for cow parsley and hogweed growing nearby though, as they could well cross with parsnips.

Interesting- we have a lot of cowparsley nearly but I seed save parsnip (sucessfully I think) every year.
I may have screwed up though, I think I've sewn both salsify and scorzonera next to each other so looks like they will cross....another year (damn it's taken 3 years to get them to grow at all!)