[Libby]

Wow!  You have really inspired me there and your allotment is wonderful - I must note down some pointers from your planting.  Love the peas.   :shock:

[DD.]

Thank you. :oops:

[peapod]

Wow!  You have really inspired me there and your allotment is wonderful - I must note down some pointers from your planting.  Love the peas.   :shock:

aww now you've made his week  

Paula

[DD.]

And it's only Monday!

[Mr B]

Hi Trillium,
     Where do you get your 'Hollow Crown' seeds from please, Suttons do not list them in their book. I also note that you used 'plenty of muck' Would this be manure or compost. I think I will try compostqueen's idea of a raisd bed though as I only have about 2 foot of earth before I hit solid chalk.  
Chris

[Trillium]

I believe Fothergills does Hollow Crown. In Canada most of our parsnip seeds are Hollow Crown, even the cheap packets. Other varieties are harder to find.

I know most people avoid manure with root crops but my soil was so poor that I simply heaped loads of older chicken poo onto my garden in autumn along with loads of shredded leaves and rotovated the works in. In spring, I heaped soil from paths into raised flattened mounds. My property is on a slope so the lowest part of the slope got more heaped soil and this is where I planted my parsnips. I have a hardpan below so this gave me close to 3 ft at that end which worked out nicely. Best of all, none of the roots were hairy and only a few forked because there's still loads of stones in the soil.  Also, I direct seeded in early April as they're slow to germinate, spaced 4" all directions, and tried to keep the soil evenly moist until they sprouted, then watered often (we don't get much rain here during summer).  Keep them well weeded.

 I'll try to get my crop pic posted onto my personal gallery soon and you'll see the results.

[Christine]

I've learned a lot about parsnips here - should manage to do better in 2009 now. No-one in our family ever grew parsnips so I had no-one's experience to draw on this year.  Mind they didn't do brassicas either.