Allotments 4 All

I went to the allotment today and lifted some parsnips  (White Gem). They're not terribly big, cos I never got round to thinning them but they smell absolutely wonderful. Can't wait to eat them.

The onions and garlic are growing apace, the broccoli  and savoy cabbages are huge. Everything looked neat and organised and I felt quietly satisfied with progress.  8)

Weather permitting I'll start clearing our new second plot over the next couple of weeks.

Parsnips are one of my favourite winter vegetables. When roasted, I prefer them to potatoes, and will often have just parsnips ... Have you tried cutting them into 3mm straws and deep frying them (shallow frying works too but is slower). Remove them when just starting to darken, the are really yummy with a dip ...

Glad to hear you are happy with your achievements !

Derekthefox

Parsnips are fabulous.  Gourmet din dins or what  ;D   This allotmenteering is fab if what we end up with is all this gorgeous food  ;D

I realise that taste is a subjective thing, but what do people think is the tastiest parsnip?  Unfortunately I haven't a clue what variety Parsnips are that I buy from the shops. :(

I've bought a packet of "Tender and True" seeds from AlanRomans.com to try.  Figured I can't go wrong for 50p  (Cheapskate!);D

Me too Mute!  I have T and T  and superb they are too.  However, being a berk I forgot to sow any so have had to rely on mates.  This lotty thing is so brill as someone will always have remembered what you have forgotten! Can't wait til next year  ;D

I was so determined to make sure I had 'snips for the winter that I ended up sowing 3 times as the first 2 sowings failed to germinate, hence mine are not monsters, but big enough - 1 'snip feeds 4 !!  This year I grew Gladiator, nice long white clean roots, canker resistant, and they seem to be holding well in the wet cold ground.  I grew tender and true last year and was just as pleased with them, except they germinated quickly and grew into MONSTERS!!!  ;D ;D

Fab EJ.  ;D  I grew Glads one year and forgot about them.  That was when the dog dug them up bless him. :Perfick specimens. Can't believe I forget me Tender and True seeds anorl.  Lesson learned.  If you don't sow you don't get!  I won't forget again.  Oh getting excited for year number two on the plot  :)

I've got Tender and True to plant next year. I agree with Derek. There's nothing to beat parsnips roasted, deep-fried or even as mash.

Tender and true here too !

Derekthefox

Gladiator here.  Wonderful big long straight roots.  I'm having to dig about 18" down to get them out!  Roasted with a drizzle of honey over the top is my favourite or load of chunky pieces in a beef stew.......crikey my mouth is watering now!

....mental note to dig some extra today {GG}

Tender and True gives me roots like that when it feels like it, but I've had some pathetic crops for the last couple of years; first we had that very dry spring, and this year so much cold weather. A neighbour of mine who grows exhibition veg had parsnips about three feet long this year, but they hadn't bulked up at all.

Tomorrow I will dig a couple of parsnips-blowed if I can remember the name. It will be symbolic as I once thought I would not see this Christmas in England.

And,as Jenny says." You will never find a `root` like that on the other side of the world"

Buggar,this has not been my finest year-and that goes for the garden as well.

But I hi-jack this thread to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and New Year of good growing and fun.

Stephan

Yes, I have just returned from my plot with a couple of beauties ...

I hope things are looking ok for you now Stephan, and I wish you a pleasant restful break too. I should be around all through the holiday period ...

Derekthefox

I love Parsnips but I have never been able to get them to germinate.

So kind people how did you do it ::).  If you can help me out it would be real  8).

many thanks

Bill Door

Happy Christmas and a prosperous new year

I sow at the beginning of March, and drop in a few radish seeds to help mark the rows. Parsnip seeds seem very slow to germinate, and fresh seed is recommended.

Good luck

Derekthefox

Don`t sow too early-the seed packet says one time but wait until the soil has warmed up a bit.

Derek makes a good point about radish,but sow those just to the left or right of the row-not in amongst as when you pull the radish you might disturb the young parsnips.

I only sow a few radish seed Cleo, and leave them to go to seed, so the parsnips are not disturbed.

Derekthefox

Thanks derek and cleo ;).  Do you do anything special with the soil?  I have clay type soil  :'(, will that make a difference?

regards  Bill

I use soil 'prepared' for roots, ie no added nutrients or compost, manure etc for last two years...

Derekthefox

I actually find they do alright in my heavy clay, but I do dig that bit well first. I don't add anything now, but they did best in one particular place where I'd dug some sand in previously.

I will make one observation related to Christmas dinner ...
I prepared one parsnip, essentially a minimum portion, as I did with other vegetables. For a family of six, with several hungry eaters, and only my father averse to parsnips, there were still several parsnip sticks left, not to mention multitudes of other vegetables. Do these vegetables multiply on Christmas day?

Derekthefox

Parsnips beautiful. Brussel sprouts small but wow. Roasted potatoes came great did them with garlic and rosemary. Impressed myself. Been up to lottie to put peelings on compst and going to lie on settee and comotose now. Didn't Isay it would all work out in the end!

Sorry to hear that Pauline - what rotten luck! Our best wishes are with you and your family, hope Simon recovers soon.

I repeat everything that jennym has just said ...

Derekthefox

Aww Pauline!! You poor thing!! And your son, of course, I'm sure as his mum you'll be able to cheer him up and hopefully once the holiday season is over, they can try and sort out his knee...... Take care, huge, huge hug and squeeze..
Lots  :-*

Thank you all for your concern and good wishes. 

I hope you all had a lovely day and that there were no other catastrophes amongst my fellow Lotties.

Time to get out the liqueurs now.....my favourite moment. 

Enjoy the rest of your hols.


Pauline

Any Tia Maria???
Have a lovely evening... :-*

Pauline. thought I would pop in to A4A for few mins. So sorry to hear about your son and can understand him being devastated not being able to get to his children and wife. I hope things improve., my wishes go to you all.     Lorna.

Thoughts are with you and your son hope his knee improoves soon :)  Have a restful evening. ;)

I popped in to say how much everyone here enjoyed parsnips, potatoes and  carrots and the fact that they all got eaten up!!!!  I've put all the peelings aside to dig into a trench for runner beans.

(Don't grow brussels sprouts cos they'll only tolerate them on Xmas Day. I buy what I need for Xmas. :-[).

Then I read about Pauline's son.

Pauline I'm so sad for you. Let's hope there are ways around the problem. Big hugs from me.

For anyone who's had problems - like me last year - with parsnips either not growing very large, or growing like alien multi-legged tennis balls (!!), I suggest you try what I did this year:

Get a big stake or fence post
Chanfer off the corners to give you a reasonable point
Push about 12"-15" into the ground, twist a bit, then pull out
Fill hole with bagged compopst mixed about 3 parts compost to 2 parts sand
Sow two seeds on the top of the compost/sand mix
Make the next hole aobut 6" away from the edge of the first.
Repeat.
Cover the whole lot with a very thin sprinkling of more compost and sand mix

When they germinate, remove the weakest looking seedling (if both germinate)


I did this for the first time this year - to much ridicule from one of my fellow plot holders - and also sowed another lot as normal, in the same raised bed or well sifted soil.

Results?

The parsnips sown in the dibbed holes we universally long, straight and nearly all a decent size (about 10" to 12" long, about 2" to 3" across at the top.

The others grew well, but several are small and stunted, several have multiple appendages, and none are as big as the other lot.

All were Tender & True.

I'll certainly be donig the same again this year - as will my vocal neighbour!

Tony

That sounds like a pretty convincing demonstration newtona ...

I may be inclined to do that myself, since my ground is extremely stony ...

Interesting theory that, newtona2. I have a great crop of parsnips this year. We held off sowing until early April as the 1st lot of carrots never came, so we waited for the soil to warm up a bit. The only down side is that due to sowing too thickly and having heavyish soil, some roots are twisted or forked. I am thinking of digging in some builders sand next year, to try and lighten the soil up a bit. Maybe a more accurate sowing method like yours will give beter results.

I grew parsnips for the first time this year, using the three seeds in a loo roll in a cold frame method of germination.
I figured I'd at least get 6" of straight root, but the things grew long so fast they had the primary root coming out of the bottom of the rolls before I got them in the lottie, and this caused them to fork sooner than I'd have liked.

I got a dozen in the end, with 3 or 4 being very cankered and most of the rest being, well, spherical!  One was a good 4" across but only 3" down to the fork! Highly amusing. But for all that, I did a bagful to take to the inlaws' and we parboiled and roasted them in goose fat and wow! Even the largest had tender cores (they were Tender and True).
I've been eating bought ones from the local farmers' markets and they aren't a patch on these. Funny shaped they may be, but tastewise they aren't comparable.

Have now got orders for next year so I think my root veg area is about to increase in size  ;D ;D

moonbells

That is wonderful to hear moonbells, next year will be even more then? I went mad this year, having failed so often with bad germination, and sowed twelve rows of parsnips, using all my old seed stock as well. At least 6 rows germinated, and a conservative estimate is that I have over 200 parsnips. Now half of these are not usuable either due to size or shape, but that still leaves about 100 that are edible. That represents in excess of 50 dinners for us. So my crop is beyond expectations. Good job now I have found out how delicious parsnip wine is.

Parsnips my fav root veg, I grow "student" very long roots and flavour out of this world, I sow 1/2 a oz of seed every  year. no waste any surplus goes to making Parsnip Wine.

Having no idea that germination took so long with parsnips and living in the cold Buxton climate I put a row in and when nothing happened put some in pots ( i now know this was a bad idea!)

The row eventually germinated and I must have 60 'nips each straight and about 20" long (counting the whippy tail). The pot grown ones were planted out and went mad and are even bigger but very weird shapes! After a bit of carving they resemble swedes and weigh up to 2lb each! taste just the same tho and look identical when mashed or in soup!

Might be worth putting a few in paper pots just in case the main row doesn't germinate, it's one of the few veg the kids actually ask for

Variety is T & T -

glow777. Another newbie I have failed to say welcome to!!! Sorry about that but I will say welcome now. Most of the natives are OK, just one or two who are quite mad but velly velly nice ;D

Quote from: lorna on December 29, 2005, 09:39:24
glow777. Another newbie I have failed to say welcome to!!! Sorry about that but I will say welcome now.

Thanks Lorna

This looks like a very useful site I can see myself spending a fair bit of time here

Ian

Hi newtona2, sounds a good method, I will try it myself this season.

MikeB

Another home wine maker powerspade? Parsnip wine is a new trial for me, do you have a good recipe? Perhaps post it in the Drinks section? One of today's tasks is to get another two gallons of parsnip wine into the bucket ...

Quote from: lorna on December 29, 2005, 09:39:24
just one or two who are quite mad

I believe I definitely fit into that category Lorna  ;)

Glow777. Meant to mention I can't stand parsnips or any other root veg. This coming year will be my first for growing a few veg. As one daughter in particular loves parsnips I will try a few for her. I do love raw carrots but I am a real "green" veg addict.......Lorna.

Lorna, as a lover of raw carrots, do you harvest the 'thinnings' during perhaps june, when they are pencil thick. Our family are almost rapturous about these, consumed fresh with mayonaise as an appetiser. To me this is one of the secret joys of growing fresh vegetables.

Quote from: Derekthefox on December 29, 2005, 15:06:10
Lorna, as a lover of raw carrots, do you harvest the 'thinnings' during perhaps june, when they are pencil thick.

No one grows carrots on our allotments apart from inside/undercover. The place is awash wth carrot fly. Unfortunately I wasn't told about this and made all the classic mistakes.
4 rows of carrots and every one so bad that when they were pulled they were either shredded or broke in half :-(

That is terrible news Glow, I grow mine in with my onions, they seem to do fine. There is evidence of carrot fly, but as my neighbour commented, my carrots are big enough that there is enough for everyone ...

glow777 Now you have me worried, as I said this coming year will be my first for growing veg. Carrot fly? Oh gawd maybe I will buy my carrots to eat raw as I do now from the supermarket.

Or do as I do lorna. The onions seem to do the trick ok. Just a few in the row should be enough.

They've tried everything at our place even the old hands struggle, those that can be bothered grow indoors but as it's not a high (monetary) value crop a lot don't bother.

It really was upsetting though because most of the carrots looked a good size. May try growing indoors in tubes/drainpipes just so I can appreciate the taste of home grown carrots.

Other than that we're pretty pest free give or take the birds, rabbits, slugs and *^(&% caterpillas, must be the cold!

Sorry seemed to wander off the parsnip theme

You mention it not being a high value crop, but for me carrots are a staple, so I endeavour to grow enough for the year (feeding 4 ... ). I reckon I cropped well over 100kg of carrots this year, so even at lowest prices (20p/kg), that is £20 on the one crop, outlay 3 packets of seed .. perhaps £2 tops. And of course they taste like carrots should taste. However, I appreciate that there are many crops that I can't grow, so it is a case of swings and roundabouts. Oh, to have a decent tomato crop for instance ...

Quote from: glow777 on December 29, 2005, 15:50:33
[No one grows carrots on our allotments apart from inside/undercover. The place is awash wth carrot fly...

Do a little trial next year, it's worth a go for the taste. Sow your seed (an early type) when the soil has warmed up a bit, say late April, in a small area, (rake it to make sure that there is no carrot or parsnip debris) and immediately cover it with horticultural fleece, loosely enough so that there is room for carrot foliage, but bury the edges of the fleece with soil to keep it very secure. If you do that as soon as you've sowed, and keep it well watered, you should get a clean crop. You can do the same in October/November with early types, in a sheltered spot, I did some in the compost bin and had baby carrots in January.

Quote from: jennym on December 30, 2005, 09:42:21
Do a little trial next year, it's worth a go for the taste.

It's worth it just to win at the show - there's only 3 people enter carrots!
My main problem is space I have a large allotment but unfortunately share 50/50 with someone else, so cannot afford to waste space on a crop that probably wont work. Will  try tubs indoor or outside because I believe the carrot fly never flies higher than 2' off the ground. May also combine this with fleece and an onion in each one.

Incidentally my neighbour is my other main moan, she only plants an area 10' X 10' comes round once a fortnight and lets the rest go to waste. She still has her beans unpicked! and in summer the weeds made it to about 6' tall blowing seeds onto my side grrrrrrrr!!!

Quote from: Derekthefox on December 29, 2005, 23:01:34
Oh, to have a decent tomato crop for instance ...

That's it then I'll swap you toms for carrots - had so many cherry tomatoes last year I couldnt give them away!

Quote from: glow777 on December 30, 2005, 09:52:07

Incidentally my neighbour is my other main moan, she only plants an area 10' X 10' comes round once a fortnight and lets the rest go to waste. She still has her beans unpicked! and in summer the weeds made it to about 6' tall blowing seeds onto my side grrrrrrrr!!!

Most sites have agreements which require the tenants to maintain their gardens. Whilst leniency is required to allow for individual circumstances, if a tenant is not maintaining their plot, then they should be required to at least provide reasons, because as you have pointed out, it affects the weed cover on your plot too.

Although I bemoan my failed crops, eg tomatoes, I am really very pleased with my yields this year, we have loads of potatoes, carrots, onions, leeks, parsnips, french and broad beans, and gallons of curry sauce in the freezer, made from pumpkins.

Need any more space Jen? Plenty of space there for fruit ...

Plenty of VERY hard work though too, my plot looked like that when I took over, with the addition of the odd dumped car.

Quote from: lorna on December 29, 2005, 16:34:09
glow777 Now you have me worried, as I said this coming year will be my first for growing veg. Carrot fly? Oh gawd maybe I will buy my carrots to eat raw as I do now from the supermarket.

Just put some shortish bamboo canes in the ground around the rows or blocks of carrots/snips, cover the canes with pop bottles to stop the ends shredding, pop an old net curtain (non-lacy, just the mesh type) over them and peg down with wire hoops.  That keeps the flies out! I have been using enviromesh but having discovered the hospital charity shop sells large old nets at 50p each I shall be grabbing a few so I can grow more!

Since leek moth is getting closer each year, I expect I'll eventually have to do this to my onions and leeks too :(

moonbells

Hi Glow>>>  i'm down the road in hayfield!

Quote from: fbgrifter on January 01, 2006, 19:55:12
Hi Glow>>>  I'm down the road in hayfield!

Are those the allotments with the little river running through the middle of them? The wife comes from Birch Vale so get up your way a fair bit, good blackberrying area!

Haven't had a look at this site for a while, but you sure are a chatty lot.... I am going over to my plot today to try and get a parsnip up! I say try because they are so big and so deep that I spend a long time getting them out. But when I do they are well worth it, absolutely delicious! I always roast or boil mine (less fattening) but I bet they are nice fried too! They are just so sweet, yum.

I shall pick some leeks too, they are good but a bit skinny, think I planted too close together. And I am still enjoying my damson gin, although it ends up going out as pressies mostly. I started making jam a few years ago and that goes down well too, I put a teaspoon in porridge on a cold morning, oh dear mouth is watering and I have got to walk the dog first!

I made a soup yesterday with jerusalems, swede and some carrots (which I bought cause have run out). It's lovely and jerusalems are really tasty, just not sure about the side effects they have. They are particularly bad for producing tornados in the most healthy bodies but they're good for you, so what the heck.

I have never grown cabbages that last into the winter as some of you do, but think I shall try that this year as anything I don't eat, my rabbit does! She is a veerrry healthy rabbit, no bought food, just good healthy veg....
and

glow>>  that's the one

Quote from: fbgrifter on January 07, 2006, 09:55:49
glow>>  that's the one

Reckon your Hayfield site is a month in front of ours weather wise!

Ian
In cold hilly Buxton, but at least the snows melted this morning, back to the thread off to get some parsnips.

OK i have now dug up 1/4 of my parsnips - I have suddenly realized I have a massive glut. I have sorted them into two batches :-

those that are mishappen and when whittled down look like swedes, these will be chopped and frozen for soups and stews most of these are transplants

and the 18"+ monsters that will be stored for roasting, planted direct and thinned.

I imagine there is about 30lb+. not counting whats left in the ground (all directly sown)

Anyone got any ideas what to do with the rest, leave them in the ground or store them?

And has anyone transplanted parsnips using the newspaper pots?

Ian

I also have a glut of swedes, I'd kill for a decent carrot

If you fancy a go at wine making, then parsnips do actually make decent wine ...

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/yabbse/index.php/topic,14858.0.html

That should consume a few ...

Weather permitting I'm lifting mine tomorrow. Depending on quantity and quality they'll be assigned to the freezer or the demi-johns. :)

I really do fancy the wine making (and drinking) but haven't got the equipment, room or time, but have earmarked it for next year....however one of my friends is a big winemaker will see if I can get him to make some with my extras in return for a sample bottle or two!

cheers Derek

BTW what else makes a good wine

Rose hips. Ginger. Oranges. Pineapples. Lots of things.

Rhubarb is very good, also good as a mixer, and wines made from any fruit are pretty good ... some very simple research using google will yield dozens of ideas ...

Ummm. you are all making me very envious; still, if I mine germinate I will be enjoying a crop of yummy parsnips in a years time.

Anyone grown the variety Merlin from DT Brown? Any comments on it?

mat

Only tried growing parsnips once and didn't realise they took a while to germinate so ended up digging over and planting something else - some parsnips still grew but very twisted and small.  Have  developed a real taste for them now (albeit shop bought lately) so am planting some this year and the point of this ramble is to ask whether we should cover them as we do with carrots?  I believe that as they are members of the carrot family (?) carrot root fly like them too.

By the way, variety we have ordered is Palace F1 - anyone tried that?

Don't know Wicker. Our parsnips are just fine but our carrots were a disaster. :(

Same as grawrc - carrots ripped by carrot fly but parsnips untouched, infact parsnips weren't affected by anything even the slugs went round them.

If your soil is too shallow and you only need a few try growing in 6" tubes or just plant and let them form strange shapes, they still grow big and when cut up are just the same (with a little more wastage/compost)

Redclanger, I have had success in the past on stony soil in Stevenage with Paris Market Baron - fat round carrot you can sow in succession through the year because it grows so fast, though it might be listed as an early. Good luck with your rocks  ;D

Redclanger - try my method, outlined further up in this post. Just "dib" a 12" deep hole (I used a fence post) and fill it with compost and sand mix. Put two parsnip seeds in the top and cover with a little more compost. Do this for every individual parsnip you want to grow and you'll not have to worry about stones at all.

If you can't be bothered to do individual holes just dig a 4" wide trench and fill with compost and sand mix, the do the same.

Tony

I spoke too soon. Lifted the rest of the parsnips today and one or two had definite signs of carrot fly interference. Most were fine though. Phew. 8)