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Hello,

I've just moved flat and now have a yard that I can grow things in. I was wanting to grow parsnips in containers - how deep do they need to be? and how many could i plant in a container? I am thinking of going to the local florists and asking for some of their black buckets will these be big enough?

Thanks,
Dom.

The buckets you mention should be sufficiently deep for this.

Fill with seived well drained compost for best results.

Sow in two concentric circles in the pot then thin out to about 2" apart when they are about 6" tall.

Roughly speaking in the outer circle you should end up with around 10-12 No and in the inner circle 5-6 No (if my maths are correct)

Keep an eye on the watering they don't want to be too wet or too warm.

If the buckets get too warm the roots will cook and you will finish up with crown rot! so its a case of cool feet warm head.

Cool thanks for the advice - Will try what you suggest and see how it goes.

Thanks,
Dom.

Parsnip variety tender and true can grow to 10-12"

Alternatively another variety is called avon resister that are shorter. grow to approximately 5"

Just a thought in case you cant get deep containers.

Medwyn Williams grew show parsnips in an upright drainpipe so maybe that would be worth trying.....

Some of the newer F1 varieties like dagger are shorter (for supermarkets!) they would be fine in those black buckets..
:)

Great - to be honest I hadn't thought about different varieties ::), any recommendations for nice tasting (short) parsnips?

If I need to keep the roots cool would painting the buckets white help reflect the heat and keep them cooler?

If i hunted down the local skips and found some drainpipe how wide would it need to be? I would assume that cutting to 12 inch lengths would be long enough for most types of parsnips.

Thanks for all your advice so far,
Dom.

QuoteIf i hunted down the local skips and found some drainpipe how wide would it need to be? I would assume that cutting to 12 inch lengths would be long enough for most types of parsnips.

You sound like a novice so based on that, I would suggest you do not go down the 'pipe' route it is quite specialist, and no the pipes are not 12" long (although they could be) they are generally 4ft + and they are 4"-6" in diameter.

What people who use pipes are attempting to do is; get the longest parsnip for record purposes.

Quite often the edible part is no bigger than you would get normally but the tap root can be 3ft-4ft long and all it looks like is a piece of string.

Look at these and believe it or believe it not these are not very long in terms of 'long parsnips'

However if you do consider trying it let me be the first to wish you the best of luck!

Regarding painting your buckets white you could but all I meant was keep the buckets shaded with say other containers or a strategically positioned plank of wood. Or sink them (buckets) into the ground

Quote from: DomPeace on March 02, 2007, 13:25:32
Hello,

I've just moved flat and now have a yard that I can grow things in. I was wanting to grow parsnips in containers - how deep do they need to be? and how many could i plant in a container? I am thinking of going to the local florists and asking for some of their black buckets will these be big enough?

Thanks,                         
Dom.                  Hey Dom ! That is a good idea...I will give this a go   :)    Rohaise   x

Hi Dom. I have grown sweetcorn, parsnips, beans and peppers in pots before -they do have to pretty deep though. The only thing is you really have to on top of the watering and feeding.
Happy growing and when you've grown your parsnips you can have yummy roast parsnips with honey and ginger. Just sublime!!  ;)

Folks, Thanks for your advice - I'll let you know how I get on.

Tee Gee - Wouldn't say I'm a novice, i'm not that experienced yet  ;) I aim to be a novice in a couple of years. :)


Dom.