I've started a veg patch for my daughter and am not sure if these are weeds or shoots the first one below is where I planted Turnips

The next is where I planted Parsnips

Also I planted Onions and Little gen lettuce and need advice as to when and how to thin them ...below are the pics of the "clumps" .. they seem very puny to pull out and replant now ? should I wait til they're bigger?? how big??

I think that the plant in your first image ( turnips) is creeping buttercup which can be an invasive weed and really needs digging up. It has brittle roots and all of it needs to be removed otherwise the root pieces will grow back.

the first seed leaves of turnips will be heartshaped followed by more normal leaves.

Your lettuces look an ideal size to be transplanted, water well, lift as a clump and then gently seperate them and replant about 6 inches apart. Just be careful not to damage the stems so only hold them by the leaves.

Hi Alan, growing some veg here for the first time. The first pic looks a lot like creeping buttercup to me ......... if it is I would get rid of it, there's loads of it here and it can spread and strangle a lot of other plants

I'm excited at the prospect of being able to eat something that I've grown, good luck

Another point is that perhaps you should try really hard to separate the seeds as you sow them into the row. You seem to be getting clumps, maybe because the seeds are all fallng in together. Although the packet says to thin them after they come up, some seedlings, particuarly root crops, don't like to be transplanted, so the packet is really telling you to throw them away. I'm, greedy, so I don't thin as much as I should, but with parsnips, carrots and beetroot, they seem to push each other out of the way and you can (carefully) pick the larger and leave the smaller for another time. But you do need to try to leave a space between seeds if you can.

Alan- it's a great thing to do with your daughter and you'll have good fun! As you'll see from Busy Lizzie's pic her veg are in nice straight rows in well prepared soil and that's the best advice I can give you. It makes it easier to tell which are weeds and which are the plants you've sown! Label the end of each row too as soon as you've sown and don't sow too generously.

A few little quick growing seeds and/or some strawberries will keep your daughter interested too (especially if you can give her a little patch of her own) - they always want them to grow yesterday!! A couple of tomato plants on a window sill is a good idea as well as she'll see quite quick progress.

I always sow parsnips a pinch at a time. so I am in complete agreement with your daughter. Frankly parsnips can be a bit reluctant to germinate, so I sow 4 or 5 seeds every 9 inches along the row. Then, when they begin to grow, I pull out the weeker looking seedlings just leaving the best looking one. I can't see the point in sowing all along the row, however thinly, when you only need a plant every 9 inches etc. Any seeds sown in the remaining 8 inches are always doomed.

Just to confirm j_gilberts doubts about me mixing up turnips and parsnips, here's a better picture of the plant growing where I'd planted Turnips .. having looked at Lizzies pic I'm pretty sure this isn't either a parsnip or a turnip ... must be creeping buttercup ...