Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: Bjerreby on February 08, 2009, 11:18:22
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Hello everyone. I’ve visited this forum a few times as a guest, and thought it is about time I joined in. I’m in Denmark, where they have slightly different gardening traditions to those at home in the UK.
I am establishing a kitchen garden round my house, and as I am inexperienced, I'd like some advice on when to plant our parsnips. I have seen your fine ideas about germinating in Tupperware boxes and using loo rolls, but just when do you plant out parsnips? The climate here is like North Yorkshire or Northumberland.
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Welcome to the site Bjerreby,
How long is a piece of string???
I wait until the end of March before I sow mine... later if putting straight into the soil. If you are very near the west coast you might get away with earlier say Mid-March... ? :-\
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Thanks for that saddad. I am on the islands between Jutland and Sweden. It is warmer here than in the UK right now. I'll curb my impatience and wait till late March before sowing.
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Hiya, Bjerreby, nice to meet you, I've started chitting some but they will be going in under cover.
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Heya manicscousers. I read that parsnips take anything between 10 and 28 days to germinate. What is your experience with that?
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Hi Bjerreby, nice to meet you , ;D
March sounds pretty good for where you are too. As they are long rooted
they need a good composted soil to allow for growth, a heave stony soil wil not give
give them the best chance.
I sow straight into the ground, seeds well spread in rows for easier lifting when ready -
I don't thin out at all, seems to be OK.
floss x
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Heya flossy. Because we have very heavy clay here I have dug all my new beds 2 spades deep and incorporated lots of the local seaweed. That was last spring, and since I just grown a bit of lettuce there, with good results.
You mention compost. I read parsnips don't like the ground with compost added recently. Have you any thoughts on that? If I sow parsnips in loo rolls, can I stuff compost in the rools or is simple soil better?
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Hi, Bjerreby
Last year i put Gladiator straight in the ground round about March the 20Th, 3 seeds every 4-5inch,i find this helps when you come to thin them out.And no need for loo rolls. ;D
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Sorry, meant to say well rotted compost or even bagged stuff, :D
What you have already sounds pretty good to me.
floss x
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Ours were planted out mid april (Manchester) last year without cover. These had been pre-chitted and planted in loos rolls. We started the process about mid-end feb.
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Heya manicscousers. I read that parsnips take anything between 10 and 28 days to germinate. What is your experience with that?
ours take between 7 and 14 days in the warm, I often leave the rest and more sprout :)
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Welcome to the site :)
Sorry i can't help you as this will be my first year growing.
Neil
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Wotcha Bjerreeby!! welcome to the site, have fun in your gardening. rgds, tony ;)
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I was hoping to get a couple of rows sown this week, same time as last year. I don't mind scraping a bit of frost off the ground but it's snowing as hard as ever again outside.
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Hi Bjerreby, if you want to sow straight into the ground in heavy clay, try dibbing a hole, say 8" deep, infill with good compost and sow into that. It would be good to hear of the different gardening traditions you experience in Denmark :)
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Hi and welcome Bj ;D
I was going to say wot Terrier said also compost is good, its manure they dont like ;)
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Thanks for all those kind responses. I was particularly interested to read it is fresh manure I should avoid.
Concerning gardening traditions in Denmark, they have a thing called "kolonihaver" which is very similar to our allotments, except it is all much more prissy, you know, clean curtains in their shed, and everyone has gravel paths with deep rake marks all going in the same direction. The emphasis in a Danish allotment is as much about solidarity with the allotment club and socializing as growing fruit and vegetables.
Kitchen gardens are now rather a rarity in Denmark. I live in a hamlet of maybe 200 houses, and as far as I can tell, there are just 2 of us who grow our own. My neighours can't understand why I don't simply buy stuff from the local co-op.
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you know, clean curtains in their shed
Unlike Star you see the state of her nets. ;) ;D
It would been nice see some pictures of where you live and of a kolonihaver,any chance you could post a few i for one would like to see them.
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Here's a link to "The Association of Danish Allotment Users".
http://www.kolonihave.dk/
I'm afraid it's in Danish, but the photos on the home page say it all; flags, park benches...... :-[
By the way, I just noticed their home page has a link to a thing called "Tillidsmandskurser". You'll think this odd, but "tillidsmand" is a shop steward, and "tillidsmandskurser" are courses for shop stewards. Now, I think trade unions ave a place in the world................but NOT down the allotment!
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so these are not necessary places to grow food but like a regular garden for those that don't have garden ??? is that it??
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Many of them areused like that, yes. That's because so many Danes in towns live in flats. Some are used for growing vegetables, but it is not anything like as popular as in the UK.
Here's a snap of 1/3 of my garden on Boxing Day.
(http://i39.tinypic.com/2e65wt1.jpg)
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That's what my site as when it started. Maybe not quite as suburban, but people used plots as orchards and gardens as well as for vegetables.
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It is really interesting to hear how allotments are run in Denmark Bjerreby. I live in the North East of England and this year I am going to germinate my parsnips in long root trainers indoors and plan on starting them off next week. I would usually sow them in the ground about March to April, which I think is a bit late as they have a long growing season, but I have had mixed results with germination over the last few years, so I will try germinating them indoors this year. Let us know how you get on. Best Wishes, busy_lizzie :)
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Again, thanks for the kind replies. It is a bit different to a football forum!
Robert..........it might look suburban, but we are in fact out in the sticks. The red timber house you see on the left of the photo......I built it last year on an old orchard site in the hamlet. I have 3 times the growing space as you see on the snap.
busy_lizzie........will you use loo rolls for your parsnips? I was concerned they might not be long enough to hold the tap root if I keep them inside for a longer period, soI have a scheme to use strong brown paper instead. How long do you intend keeping yours inside?
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Hi Bjerreby and welcome to the forum, I think your the first person from Denmark I've met on here, so its GREAT to see a DANE sharing your experiences with us, I look forward to seeing more pictures of your garden, I sow my nips straight into the ground 1st week in April, I still have some in the ground, I'll have to dig them up and freeze them. ;D ;D ;D
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Hi Bjerreby, I am going to use some empty goats milk cartons, which I have been collecting. I will plant two seeds in the compost, and when I think there is good growth on top, and presumably equally good roots underneath, I will slit the cartons open and put the plantlings in the soil. It is a bit of an expirment, but I think it could be the answer to my poor germination as at least I can monitor them and control the conditions. :)busy_lizzie
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Nice plot Bjerreby, and you built your own house how long did that take you,and are the rest of the houses in your hamlet selfbuild.
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Its the only self-build house in the hamlet.
I started drawing up architectural plans October 2006. Applied for planning permission February 2007, started digging March 2007, placed main orders for materials March 2007, finished extra deep foundations April 2007 (we are on a very heavy clay that shrinks in summer), received planning permission May 2007 ;D, worked like a madman until November 2007 when we moved in.
The timber comes from Lapland. Slow grown redwood from 100% replenished plantation.
The most impressive feature of the house is the energy efficiency. The floor plan is 130 m2, and we have 0.4m insulation under the floor, 0.35m under the roof, and 0.28m in the walls. Our gas bill for the whole of last year was about £400.
Here are a few more snaps
(http://i44.tinypic.com/2ly506x.jpg)
(http://i42.tinypic.com/2dukvwn.jpg)
I’ve sown the plot as a wildflower meadow, in which I am now establishing my vegetable plots. I had a problem with the flower seed, which turned out to be mostly Phacelia tanacetifolia, which I think is called “fiddleneck”. Here you see it. Mind you, fiddleneck is fantastic with respect to bees…………..I have never seen anything like it for attracting bees.
(http://i40.tinypic.com/24d252e.jpg)
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Don't know how I missed this thread. Welcome to A4A. lovely pics
.About the parsnips. I have tried growing mine in tubes and transplanting but although they looked lovely above ground they were like octopi when I got them up. Needless to say we sow straight into the ground in about April. Better germination leaving it a bit later. Sowed in March last year and had to do it all again.
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Hi Bjerreby i must yes i do like your house you must be very proud,love the view of the church,doe's your hamlet have a shop or a pub if not how far do you have to travel to get to one.
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Concerning gardening traditions in Denmark, they have a thing called "kolonihaver" which is very similar to our allotments, except it is all much more prissy, you know, clean curtains in their shed, and everyone has gravel paths with deep rake marks all going in the same direction. The emphasis in a Danish allotment is as much about solidarity with the allotment club and socializing as growing fruit and vegetables.
They sound and look a bit like the ones I've seen in Holland - VERY smart and well kept, lovely sheds / cabins and yes proper paths. Plus if they're anything like the ones in Holland they're also quite pricey to rent
1066
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Hi Bjerreby i must yes i do like your house you must be very proud,love the view of the church,doe's your hamlet have a shop or a pub if not how far do you have to travel to get to one.
Pubs are a problem...........there isn't a single pub on the island. Even if there were, you can't get a decent pint of ale here. But don't give up! I brew my own Pale Ale, and if I may say so, it is very fine indeed, like a strong version of Old Speckled Hen. And now spring is approaching, I have started brewing Light Ale so I can consume a bit more in the late afternoon after gardening. :)
We have 2 co-ops on the island. They are a bit pricey, and the nearest is about 3 miles away. We can however drive to Svendborg (20 minutes) were there are regular supermarkets.
We have a very nice little farm shop just up the road, where everything costs 10 kroner a bag (about £1.20), except spuds, which are 20 kroner. I have arranged for them to supply my seed potatoes.........Desiree and Sprint.
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Not familiar with "Sprint" BJ is it a European variety or just one I've missed? :-\
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Not familiar with "Sprint" BJ is it a European variety or just one I've missed? :-\
Sprint is first early.
Have you tried this link saddad?
http://www.europotato.org/menu.php