[Donnay]

Can anyone help me?

I have raised beds on my allotment, which I recently took over made from scaffold boards. Can you grow parsnips in raised beds?

[sunshineband]

Yes you certainly can 

Just be aware that that good old root may well go a lot deeper than your bed is and down into the groung beneath  .

[Kleftiwallah]

Is there a variety of parsnip that doesn't have the 'hollow crown' ?    Cheers,     Tony.

[Donnay]

Thanks for that, do you know a good variety to grow in raised beds?

[sunshineband]

Tender & True have very long roots so we struggeld to get them out of the ground.

Gladiator also broke off but the top foot was very thick, so plenty of parsnip 

This year I am growing Albion -- rather on the skinny side tbh, but that might be lack of water 

But next year I am risking the seed from a Gladiator that I left in to flower ---- it certianly germinates well, if the performance of the seed that fell onto the bark paths is anything to go by.

So the answer to your question is -- I haven't found a perfect one yet, so i hope someone else has 

[shoozie]

We have Countess F1 in raised beds, potato bags and ground bed.  This is the first year trying - and it was trying  Mainly due to taking ages to germinate.
As sunshine says, if the bed is too shallow they'll grow into the ground - which some of ours have.  Next years raised bed will be deeper.  The ones in the raised bed have done better than the ground bed.  But they are fairly small really - but tasty
Good luck 

[Donnay]

I was thinking of White Gem. Thanks for the advice.x

[sunshineband]

I was thinking of White Gem. Thanks for the advice.x

They do look quite good -- T&M sell them I seem to remember 

[Donnay]

I'm looking at buying my seeds from DT Brown, there are so many companies to choose from!

[sunshineband]

I always think with parsnips they should do half packs of seed,  as not many would use the whole packet and they don't keep 

[Salmo]

Because the seed does not keep I always sow the whole packet thickly along the row and then thin twice, just keeping the strongest plants.

[viettaclark]

I've been sowing the same packet of parsnip seed for 2 years and no germination probs......might even give it a go this year (with back-ups!)

[sunshineband]

Because the seed does not keep I always sow the whole packet thickly along the row and then thin twice, just keeping the strongest plants.

Now why didn't I think of that! 

[Debz]

I sowed enough for the space I had available and gave the rest to a colleague.

[cAnAry53]

a method that worked very well for me this year was to make holes in plot with a crowbar and fill them with a mixture of compost and grit and then set seeds in them.first time in 4 years i have had parsnips that did not look like an octopus.