even longer parsnip

[peanuts]

I've just checked the length of my parsnip that I put in for the veggie show last year, and it was 46 cm. 
Yesterday we, (and it took two of us) dug up three more parsnips, to make soup with and succeeded in getting this one out in one piece, don't know how.  And it is all of 57cm long!!!

[peanuts]

[Hi_Hoe]

Chuffin' eck! thats 'uge!!

What variety is it, Peanuts? Did you do anything special to grow it??

[peanuts]

I thought I'd gone and stupidly thrown away the empty packet, then remembered what happened.  It was  Johnsons packet of Palace F1, which should have had 200 seeds in it but only had 67!  So I wrote and complained, and they sent me another packet, not that much use for last year as I'd already sown them.  and usually I don't find that last year's seed does well for  parsnip.  But I'll probably sow them as extras this year.
No I don't do anything special.  I start them in cardboard tubes of compost, indoors, as that way I get fairly rapid germination.  I plant them out almost immediately - we were amazed to  see the tap root appearing at the bottom, even when the leaves had only been showing a couple of days!  Clear evidence that the root crows first and very fast!
Our soil is virtually or really completely stoneless, and is a light clay I think.  we do rotavate it so if all goes well, there is nothing to stop the parsnips just growing and growing further down till they reach Australia, clearly! I guess they also like the warmer soil, where we are in SW France, where we have plenty of rain too, but not as much as the UK last year.

[galina]

Nice one, Peanuts!

Glad you are still getting good fresh produce after the freezer defrost mess!  If you can dig these out, have you ever thought of trying scorzonera? 

Very envious as my two direct sowings of parsnip didn't work.  Your method this year - methinks, certainly if a second attempt proves necessary.

Thanks for showing us

[chriscross1966]

I always grow from tubes too, but I guess I'm a bit lazy getting them out and they tend to only get about 8-10 inches long  before they fang  massively... that said they do tend to get quite fat and in the kitchen I find a short fat parsnip easier to deal with than a long thin one... for starters all the bits are nearly the same size.... that's a very long parsnip for one grown in the flat... I'd be happy with it if it cme from a tube..

[Kleftiwallah]

Well that's the end. . .a tape without inch increments. 

Cheers,  Tony.

[peanuts]

It's about 22 and a 1/2 inches, Tony! Sorry it is a French tape measure!

[gazza1960]

Excellent effort peanuts,I do bow to those that can grow bigguns,I do try to grow mine in large 2 feet deep containers will riddled soil and compo but only get 8 inch at best......anyway,top parsnips.

Gazza

[Robert_Brenchley]

If you have to store parsnip seed, keep it in the freezer. I've done that successfully with Meconopsis, and if it works with that, it'll work with anything.

[peanuts]

Not thought of storing the parsnip seed Johnsons sent me in the freezer, silly me!  Probably not that much point now as I've had it since last April/May

[green lily]

Mine are not good this year but I grew very long ones the other [dry] year in a raised bed. No watering so they had to go down deep to find. Sods to dig up but quite amazing roots.