Anyone tried this?

[cambourne7]

Hi Guys,

When i had my allotment i wondered if i burried water bottled with the bottom and tops removed into the soil would it mean that parsnips were easier to dig out in the winter?

As my new raised beds are going to be 24" deep i will have the height then i was tempted to bury at the bottom of each of my beds 4 rows of bottles (however many will fill a 4dt wide bed) and use this for planting parsnips, carrots, leeks?

Anyone else tried this? Does it work?

[cambourne7]

[Crystalmoon]

Hi Ive never heard of using water bottles this way & Ive been reading alot about growing parsnips as Im trying them for the first time this year,sorry I cant be of any real help with your question.

I do use water bottles planted next to my squash plants so I can get water easily down to the roots & avoid root rot. 

[PurpleHeather]

Not too sure how your mind is working on this one but all I can imagine is that you will end up with a load of squashed bottles, possibly tangled with mishapen roots.

Or are you considering standing the bottles upright in the hope that the bottles will capture the parsnips and work something like those victorian glass tubes used to grow straight cucumbers?

I suppose that it would be possible to fill the cylinder you will be left with after removing the tops and bottoms, with compost or soil and grow a root vegetable in each that way.

[antipodes]

It does sound like a lot of faffing around. I would probably suggest mulching the parsnips once the cold comes, so the ground around them doesn't freeze so much that you can't dig them up...

[Robert_Brenchley]

I think your bottles would just get frozen in.