[MattieG]

Hi All
There is a guy on YouTube who grows parsnips and carrots in drainpipes... I have 50 spare 3 litre deep rose pots... do you think I can grow one parsnip in each pot???

Thanks
Mattie

[Yorkie]

What's the actual depth of your pots; I can't visualise them from volume?

Do you have a particular variety of parsnip in mind?

[mjpalin]

We tried to extend the depth of our bathtub parsnips last year with drainpipes. It was pretty much a disaster. Despite regular watering by us, it would seem it wasn't enough. When we harvested them in Feb, they had sent out 100's of tiny roots from the 'snips looking for water and they were the weediest things we've ever seen.
If you do decide to go ahead, please let me know if you have more success than we did!

[Totty]

So long as the depth is ok, the only reason for not having success with parsnips in pots or tubes is the growing medium.
I would say the rose pots are not deep enough.

Also, parsnips won't grow well in multipurpose, they like to grow in a soil based mixture.
A good mixture is 40 litres of mp compost, 40 litres of sieved garden soil, 3 ounces of superphosphate, and the same of potash. Fill your tubs, pots or tubes with that and they will grow nicely.

Totty

[MattieG]

Hi All

The pots are about 20cm deep and 17cm wide
I think I will try a few anyway.
Mattie

[Yorkie]

If you have the option, go for a stumpy rooted variety - 20cm really is quite shallow.

I've had a parsnip that was somewhere between 15"-18" long ...

[DD.]

And I bet the rest of the tap root had gone way beyond that before it filled out.

Parsnips put out very long tap roots, as soon as they hit the bottom that it. Don't expect the usable part of the parsnip to be anywhere near 20cms, (whatever that is). I won't mind betting it wouldn't even be half that.

[solway cropper]

For the last five years or so I've grown all my parsnips in black flower buckets with the bottoms cut out and placed directly on the garden soil. I use a mix similar to that recommended by Totty and my best result has been 3kg of usable roots from one bucket. They were packed so tightly they actually split the bucket!

[shoozie]

Here's 'my haggis' parsnip, who was a salvaged thinning that we stuck in a 40lt pre-used potato bags as  an experiment.

He's not pretty, for sure 



Cut off the bottom of your pots is good advice.  I had some spare potato bags after earlies, so, although not ideal, we tried transplanting parsnip thinnings ..,. If you don't mind ugly space invaders, it is possible to transplant parsnips and get something edible... If you don't mind the triffid look!!