Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: cornykev on January 03, 2011, 12:44:35
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Yesterday I dug out, no, excavated a monster parsnip, it weighed 1.5 kgs and was 33cms long, :o but the bottom snapped off because I was digging down into clay, the small end where it snapped is the size of a two pence piece so I reckon about a half of the snip in length was left in the ground, the ground was very heavy and claylike so I had to snap it or I would have been there all day. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Having read that I just had to weigh the one I dug up yesterday- 1.9kg without the tail! It's an ugly thing but much better value than those slender things you get from the supermarket!
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Picture?
Pretty or maybe ugly please :)
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I still reckon that I expend more energy getting the d**n things out of my London clay than I do from eating them..
Here's mine - slightly under the kilo and fugly!
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ViKV0O_Xvmc/TSHYKY4gmTI/AAAAAAAAL7Q/vvKr5vjwP8g/s720/IMG_0503.JPG)
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Good job!
Ours are still in the ground but now having a bit of a thaw (the hyacinth are poking up out of the ground) so maybe we'll get a taste.
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How to get parsnips out without them breaking:- Dig a "moat" around the `snip with a trowel, going as deep as possible. Fill with water several times, letting it soak away between times. Take a firm grip on the parsnip and pull slowly, using sustained pressure, if it fails to move use more water. Do not yank the plant otherwise it may snap, or conversely, come out in a rush and you end up on your backside. ;D ;D
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I gave up with them.
Yes I got a few decent ones and several more that resembled something Dr Who had been fighting.
That was after I a spent years finding out how to germinate the buggers in the first place.
Now, If I want them. I buy them and use the land that I have for something more reliable.
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Heather you are such a misery. Why give up? Gardening is all about trying, failing then trying again. AND succeeding. ;D
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We get big parsnips as well ;D Am going to be looking for ways to use them up soon. Tonight was carrots: made some carrot fritters, carrot soup, veg samosas and carrot bread!
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Heather you are such a misery. Why give up? Gardening is all about trying, failing then trying again. AND succeeding. ;D
You could be right that I am a misery but I look at it as 'knowing when you are beat' then moving on.
There is plenty more to try to conquer.
Been there, tried that It did not work...Leave it and move on.
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Great news to me about everyones parsnips i have been worried about mine for ages the neibours have asked are they ready i did not like to tell them stephen speilberg was using them as extras boy are they ugly but i am very pleased to here i am not on my own. As for lifting them i will have to wait till the big thaw and use a large fork they are huge will take photos when they come out of ground thank you all i had lovely laugh at everyones Tales of the snips . Happy new year to you all. Rugbypost
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Does it matter if they're really ugly? Taste is the important thing & I prefer ugly ones. Show's they've not come from the supermarket ;D
Reminds me that I've got a few in a bucket in the garden. Need to go do some harvesting now the snow's gone. Doubt anything I've got in a bucket will be anything near the size yours mind ;D
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We save our own seed and also share it with others on our sandy plot. Everyone raves about it. Don't know what the variety is cos an old chap(well older than me) on our site gave me some of his saved seed 3 years ago and I have saved mine ever since.
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I'm sitting here wondering ??? why with all the carrot breeding for longer, shorter, stubbier etc they haven't developed parsnips that grow round like a rutabaga instead of those that like searching for China. It would probably have to happen in UK because here Americans barely know what a parsnip is sorry to say.
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I gave up with them.
Yes I got a few decent ones and several more that resembled something Dr Who had been fighting.
That was after I a spent years finding out how to germinate the buggers in the first place.
Now, If I want them. I buy them and use the land that I have for something more reliable.
I sow in pots and transplant as never get them to work with direct planting. It is slow, tedious and needs a lot more care and water.
And you get far more split roots but I just see them as more parsnip for your one seed! What doesn't get eaten in many forms gets made into parsnip wine.
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I have at last succeeded by germinating on damp paper in plastic bag in warm place, putting seed into individual loo rolls as soon as I see a tiny root (they all germinate at different times over a week or two), and planting out the loo roll BEFORE the root comes poking out of the bottom. It is amazing how fast that little root dives downwards. I have dug a few monsters but the rest are still in the ground.
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did you plant out the loo roll including the plant?
I used to do this with leeks but found the loo roll did not rot quickly and I seemed to have to water an awful lot more. I would have thought the roots would go downwards with this method but the plants just sat looking miserable when I did it. Maybe soaking the loo roll would help, any tips? You seem to have it "mastered"!
I have tried the paper germination method for beans and cucurbits and it worked well so I will try with parsnips now.
Anne
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Not overly impressed.
Parsnips at the right point for the dinner table are smaller.
Bit of a bloke thing to brag about having the biggest.
I have spent a life time trying to explain to blokes growing veg on allotments that the ideal size for the chef is not the biggest woodiest, stingiest growth.
Did you cook and eat your monster?
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I've found the big ones are perfectly edible, didn't need to take out any core before roasting. I use the loo roll method too- just make sure the roll is under the soil, or tear the top off when you plant them, otherwise it dries out and doesn't rot down so quickly.
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I grow monster parsnips too and find them perfectly delicious to eat..they are not stringy or woody at all..
I do admit larger they are harder they are to dig out whole but having a monster on your hands is soooo satisfying ;D ;)
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I've found the big ones are perfectly edible, didn't need to take out any core before roasting. I use the loo roll method too- just make sure the roll is under the soil, or tear the top off when you plant them, otherwise it dries out and doesn't rot down so quickly.
Thank you back to saving the loo rolls then!
Anyone used one of those paper pot making devices they sell now?
As for monster parsnips I just break off a leg and use it for one meal, next day the next one till all gone :D
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Great photo Nick!
I've grown them for the 1st time, but I did mine in crates (like I do the carrots - mix of soil and sand) and mostly they are small, but still very yummy, oh and I'm right chuffed ;D Just hope I can manage to do as well next year ::)
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The bog roll method would work for parsnips because the root goes straight down and out of the bottom. It's harder to see it working for leeks since they're shallow rooted, and the roots might have trouble getting through the cardboard at the sides. They don't mind root disturbance though so you could take them out of the roll, unlike snips.
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I got a paper pot maker for Christmas and find it's designed to make quite a small pot with a base, so wouldn't be as good as loo rolls. But no reason why you couldn't make bottomless ones out of rolled up paper as long as they were strong enough.
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My parsnips are like Dr Who monsters too. I just sowed lots of seed in and they all came up!! Didn't know they needed thinning ;D We have lots all shapes and sizes take a bit of cleaning but just soak in water and they are delicious!! I really don't worry about the shape or size of our veg just thrilled to be able to eat something that we grew ;D ;D
X Chas
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Mine weren't thinned either, as the previous plot owner planted them, then had to abandon all allotmenting tasks. It's always a mystery what I'll dig up - will it be teeny tiny, or will it be a giant? Oh the suspense..! ;D
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Not overly impressed.
Parsnips at the right point for the dinner table are smaller.
Bit of a bloke thing to brag about having the biggest.
I have spent a life time trying to explain to blokes growing veg on allotments that the ideal size for the chef is not the biggest woodiest, stingiest growth.
Did you cook and eat your monster?
Ohhhh get you! I dont think we were actually out to impress you really. It is not high on my list of concerns.
My massive nips are prefeck for the table - Its a myth that smaller veg are more tasty. It may suit the chef for looks on a plate but I dont give a hoot what it looks like - it's just down to taste. Mine taste just like parsnips should.
And all this stereotypical nonsense about boys bragging rights is just that - nonsense. Half the people posting are women!!!
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The thing that really surprises me everytime is when we get monster parsnips they aren't woody (I expected them to be!).
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The only get woody later in the Spring... the core hardens to support the very tall flower stem it makes. Even then you can get good food out of it just cut the flesh from the shoulders around the core.. :)