[nwalch]

Last year I grew Gladiator and the ones pulled up so far are great. The first one was 16" long. I'm going to grow them again but wanted another variety that’s not as big.

Any suggestions for good varieties for 'up north. Its a newly cultivated allotment but the soil is very good and I'm going to grow them in a raised bed so there should be plenty of depth.

[WG.]

16" is fairly small for a parsnip (and Sheffield is fairly South   ).

You could try Avonresister

[Jeanieblue]

Hello there, Happy New Year everyone. Long time no speak. My first parsnip crop was awful. More like stunted squids. Not a total waste, however, because the grandson had great fun digging them up, and I salvaged what I could and shot them in with a medley of roast veg. Any any help with growing awesome parsnips will be much appreciated.

[WG.]

Hi JB - long time no see.  There is some searchable info if you follow the WYSIWYGGY link in my signature.  Find veg index and then parsnip.

[SnooziSuzi]

a fellow allotmenteer to me grew Gladiator this year, he said you can only get them from a dutch supplier but didn't get the name of the supplier.

Anyhooo, his parsnips were around 16" long and about 6" in radius!!  one did a whole meal!  

I'll be getting some of those myself.... where do you get yours from?

[DD.]

a fellow allotmenteer to me grew Gladiator this year, he said you can only get them from a dutch supplier but didn't get the name of the supplier.

Anyhooo, his parsnips were around 16" long and about 6" in radius!!  one did a whole meal!  

I'll be getting some of those myself.... where do you get yours from?

That'd be Thompson van der Morgan, or van der Moles or.........

They all sell them!

[SnooziSuzi]

:roll:   I always wondered about this guy!

[nwalch]

a fellow allotmenteer to me grew Gladiator this year, he said you can only get them from a dutch supplier but didn't get the name of the supplier.

Anyhooo, his parsnips were around 16" long and about 6" in radius!!  one did a whole meal!  

I'll be getting some of those myself.... where do you get yours from?

Yes Van der 'Johnsons Seeds'

Yes it did a whole meal. I was looking for some of a similar size to those you get in the shops. Maybe 6" long

[Rob the rake]

a fellow allotmenteer to me grew Gladiator this year, he said you can only get them from a dutch supplier but didn't get the name of the supplier.

Anyhooo, his parsnips were around 16" long and about 6" in radius!!  one did a whole meal!  

I'll be getting some of those myself.... where do you get yours from?

Yes Van der 'Johnsons Seeds'

Yes it did a whole meal. I was looking for some of a similar size to those you get in the shops. Maybe 6" long

Sow them later than usual, so they don't grow so big.

[Jeanieblue]

Thanks, WG et al. Will hold fire and plant in April. Does anyone sieve the soil or anything to make sure there aren't any stones in it. If so, to what depth?

[Rob the rake]

I fork a couple of bags of sharp sand into the carrot/parsnip part of the rotation, but my soil's a heavy clay, which definitely benefits from it.
Much depends on what your soil's like to begin with.
If it's very stony you may be better off growing long root crops in containers. Plastic dustbins are my favourite for this job.

[Jeanieblue]

Thanks Rob, sharp sand sounds a good idea. Our new allotment has heavy soil. Can't wait for it to dry out just a bit so that I can get out and clear some more.

[Rob the rake]

Thanks Rob, sharp sand sounds a good idea. Our new allotment has heavy soil. Can't wait for it to dry out just a bit so that I can get out and clear some more.

Agonising, isn't it. I guess we're all champing at the bit right now.