Shhhhh, (whispers quietly) parsnip question

[Bren In Pots]

I've read this thread too late I spent ages yesterday cutting kitchen rolls in half

[Caro]

I'm sure I'm laying myself open to ridicule here ....

But how exactly do you grow parsnip in a kitchen roll tube? Do you have to sink the whole length of the tube into the soil? Or would you sink, say, 2/3rds and fill the whole thing with compost?

Thanks

[Hazel at the Hill]

I'm sure I'm laying myself open to ridicule here ....

'Course you're not.

Parsnips can be a bit tricky to germinate outdoors (direct sowing), so peeps sow indoors/coldframe/greenhouse by filling a whole loo roll with seed compost then sow 2 or 3 seeds in that. When the seeds come up, any weedy ones are pinched out & the whole loo roll is planted in the soil.

The reason that the loo rolls are used is that parsnips don't like having their roots disturbed, so the loo roll protects them.

You have to be a bit smartish in planting the loo roll out, though, as the original poster found out, if the main tap root (which will ultimately be your parsnip that you dig up & eat) reaches the bottom of the compost in the loo roll before the loo roll is planted out, it can kink/fork, thus giving you ood-like parsnips.

Here are mine, on the right in the photo

[piskieinboots]

what nice deep windowsills you have HATH

[Two_Sheds]

I thought root veg didn't like freshly composted soil

I think she meant multi-purpose compost (that's what I use)

[Bigmallly]

I saw a cracking video on Youtube where a guy made a mould out of drainpipes & a box. The pipes were stood on their ends about 20 of them, sand was impacted between the pipes. The pipes were then pulled out leaving 2 foot deep holes which were then filled with compost for the P***nips.

[Pies]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Why didn't anybody tell me this last week :cry:

[janeyo]

I had 3 bags full (no singing now lol) of kitchen roll tubes that I offered to people last year and had no takers. We use loads of kitchen rolls
I compsted them so none to spare this year yet, sorry. I will keep collecting them and can offfer them at end of year probably for next year, if not ask friends and family to collect for you

[Hazel at the Hill]

what nice deep windowsills you have HATH

Yeah, but come March, there won't be enough of 'em!

[zazen999]

I save my card rolls for beans.....P******s get sown direct in May and weeded once or twice and be done with it. And that's in Clay with a few handfuls of sand dug in.

[piskieinboots]

you maverick you

[zazen999]

you maverick you

We are too kind to p******s; treat them mean and all that.

[Alison]

I too sow direct, last year in April, which worked well so will be doing the same again this year. Module sow enough stuff already to be bothered with something which I find germinates perfectly well, just VERY slowly!

[coreopsis]

All Hail the Mighty Parsnip

Teeeheeee,where's Forearm Modulator ROFL

[Bigmallly]

We are too kind to p******s; treat them mean and all that.

I wasn't aware P*****ps were male..........