It doesn't quite look like the picture on the seed package.
We just ate it and it was goo-ood.
                 (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v168/fergina/volkstuin/pastinaak_resize.jpg)
It's a BIIIIG ONE, Ina! Have never grown parsnips as we only use them occasionally roasted so we buy :-[ Do they freeze well? Do they suffer the same troubles as carrots e.g. fly? Might give them a try.......
I have no idea if they freeze well, maybe someone here knows.
I read that parsnips have the same trouble with carrot fly as carrots. Since I always get a lot of damage in my carrots from them, I grew almost all of the parsnips under environmesh. I grew 4 parsnips outside the mesh to see the difference but this one (from outside the mesh) had no carrot fly damage, next year I won't bother with the mesh for them.
Freeze well - yes :)
That will feed you for a week ;D
;D Snap Ina ;D My first also ;D but not as bid as yours :'( :)
(http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/4301/parsnip12pq.jpg) (http://imageshack.us)
Now, that's more like the picture on the seed package Roy.
Luckily the core was not woody as I read might happen when they get big.
I also prepared parsnip for the first time this evening and I noticed my hands still smell of carrots, no matter how often I wash them, they still smell. Strange.
NO NEED TO FREEZE THEM THEY WILL KEEP VERY WELL IF YOU LEAVE THEM IN THE GROUND ALL WINTER THEY WILL LAST TILL MARCH. AND THEY WILL TASTE EVEN BETTER ONCE WE HAVE A FEW FROSTS.
They are already so big, if they stay in the ground won't they get even bigger and maybe even woody?
I don't visit the lottie often in winter, it's a bit of a bicycle ride and it's dark by the time I get off work. However, they're supposed to keep in the fridge for up to three weeks.
If I decide to freeze some, what would be the best way? Cut up and blanched?
Yes I would blanch and freeze them Ina. Congratulations on a very fine specimen, you too Roy. I have bed of parsnips which have lots of great leaf growth but you never quite know what you will find when you dig them up. Will it be a huge perfectly formed one or a badly forked one that has separated? I have dug up three of mine, one was perfect, one was okay and one was badly forked. I intend to leave mine as long as I can over the winter. I hope they are worth waiting for when I dig them up. :-\ busy_lizzie Â
That one is huge Ina :o
I've just started roasting them for a change and they have been great. Can't wait to grow mine.
Anna from Downunder
Hi Ina, ;D,
Congrats on the parsnip, a word of caution however on your plan to grow without enviromesh next year, this year around here the carrot fly was not so much of a problem, LAST YEAR was a different story :'( so I would keep the mesh on just to be on the safe side.
Adrian.
Ina,
What type of parsnip is it?
A fab recipe for parsnip is parmesan roasted.
Basically boil or steam until almost done and whilst still
steaming hot ( very important they are steaming),
cover in mixture of seasoned flour and grated parmesan.
Bake in oven until golden.
I like to do this as an accompaniment to the festive
Turkey :P :P
I will heed your warning Adrian re. the mesh next year.
Thanks Lizzy, I'll freeze some for easy access and that recipe sounds really good Debs, thank you. I just wonder how to cut them? Big circles?
As for the type of parsnip, I looked all through my seed packets and old order forms, but no luck, I just don't know what they were.
Judging by the reactions here I guess the size is kind of impressive hahaha.
I'vew read that if you plant Basil next to carrots it deters the carrot fly. I'm planning to get lots of basil in next year.
Basil is very tender and will disappear within hours if left exposed to winds which dessicate it. I grow mine under cover (Derbyshire) and bring it out onto the patio on sunny, still days. I suppose I could grow it under fleece on the lotty. It's good to grow next to tomatoes too. I grow lots of it :)
Quote from: Crash on October 03, 2005, 16:57:50
I'vew read that if you plant Basil next to carrots it deters the carrot fly. I'm planning to get lots of basil in next year.
I think the idea with this is to confuse the pesky carrot fly which literally sniffs out it's carrot/parsnip dinner. I read the other day (may have been in Caroline Foley) that if you plant them alongside garlic or onions the strong smell is enough to confuse the b****rs and these are much hardier than basil.
yes - I always plant some onions in alternat rows with carrots.
Parsnips ok left in ground, better after a frost. whent the tops grow back in spring they will start to grow again and can become woody so I have read, but ours grew new foliage and they were fine after a couple more weeks. Have to use JCB to excavate them though :D
Quote from: Andy H on October 03, 2005, 19:52:01
Parsnips ok left in ground, better after a frost. whent the tops grow back in spring they will start to grow again and can become woody so I have read, but ours grew new foliage and they were fine after a couple more weeks. Have to use JCB to excavate them though :D
Agree, parsnips imprrove with frost and will sit in the ground right through to Feb. I do tend to lift mine in Jan/Feb but I am on heavy clay wet soil. No even started to lift mine yet as no frost so far.
Re "Fly", never seen it in parsnips myself.
Jerry
Yeah never had damage from fly in parsnips, dig as we want them.
Dug 3 already and bung in freezer for 10 mins then cook
Prefer the small of them......
FANTASTIC INA!!!! ;D ;D ;D Looks like a perfect specimen to me. They make great chips, sweet mash and are lovely roasted! When I freeze mine it depends what I am planning for them. For roasts I cut them lengthway into large chips, for caseroles and stews I cut them into chunks or rounds depending on the size of the 'snip. I don't blanch, because I am lazy! And I also leave them in the ground in the winter to dig when I need them, only really dig the rest and freeze them in spring before they start to regrow again. Just remember to mark where they are before all the leaves die off!
So, I removed the mesh today and dug up two that had been growing under it. Now these look more like the picture on the seed packet.
I know now why the ones outside the mesh look so weird. They were the ones I sowed early at home in the cores of w.c. paper. When they were still small seedlings I noticed the tap root coming out of the bottom already so I planted them in the lottie. No matter how careful, that tap root gets damaged and look at the result hahaha. The ones I grew under the mesh were sown in their permanent bed. So, there's the proof that parsnips don't like to be transplanted.
Thanks all for the advice about cooking and storing.
Debs, I found the seed packet, the type is Gladiator.
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        (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v168/fergina/volkstuin/bettersnips.jpg)
I always grow Gladiator, the other type I like is Tender and True. Nice and sweet flavour and not woody even when large.
Jerry
yes, I like Tender and True, and find they grow nice and long even in heavy clay.