Allotments 4 All

It doesn't quite look like the picture on the seed package.
We just ate it and it was goo-ood.

                                

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 :'( :)

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   

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......