Yummy parsnips

[Derekthefox]

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

[Derekthefox]

[Meg]

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!

[jennym]

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

[Derekthefox]

I repeat everything that jennym has just said ...

Derekthefox

[undercarriage plan]

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  :-*

[Paulines7]

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

[undercarriage plan]

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

[lorna]

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.

[Delilah]

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

[grawrc]

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.

[newtona2]

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

[Derekthefox]

That sounds like a pretty convincing demonstration newtona ...

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

[Mothy]

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.

[moonbells]

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

[Derekthefox]

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.

[powerspade]

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.

[glow777]

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 -

[lorna]

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

[glow777]

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

[MikeB]

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

MikeB