Parsnips

[dabbit]

My brother gave me some seeds recently including some parsnips, he also said that you should grow them in long wide tubes. It isn't on the pack and I wondered if anyone knew about this? If so are ordinary toilet roll tube OK or are they too narrow...

[WiZeR]

do you mean grow them until harvest in a loo roll? I'd say no, unless you want baby parsnips. Maybe a kitchen towel roll? If you want to start them off in a loo roll and then put them in the ground then i'd say it's a good idea, i'm going to try it myself.

[pigletwillie]

Parsnips absolutely hate root disturbance so you will need to plant them out, loo roll and all before the root pokes out of the bottom otherwise you will have a much branched root.

You can hold fire until May if required to sow direct although you will get smaller roots, which with varieties such as "Gladiator" is no bad thing as they can get rather large. If you sow direct, put three seeds in a drill every 6-8" and cull the two weakest, leaving the best to grow on. Yes they are slow to germinate but soon make up ground when they do.

[cotton54321]

The toilet roll will degrade in about 6 weeks - I've planted carrots like this to avoid fly (on grandfathers advice)

[Birdie Wife]

Hi dabbit
Your brother might have meant long wide tubes as in the Medywn way (Welsh vegetable guru). He grows exhibition parsnips individually in 5' drainpipes to get a very long, tapering root that looks great on the exhibition shelf. Apparently they're good to eat too, but personally I'd avoid the extra work and sow direct into the ground for littler sweeter parsnips!

[eskymo]

That's weird....the other night I dreamt that I bought a load of drainpipes and cut them down to about a foot long and sunk them into my vegetable patch and then filled them with good compost and planted a parsnip seed in each.

Is this something you can do, so was my brain just playing silly tricks on me in my sleep, as I woke up and thought it was a rather good idea!

[pigletwillie]

Some people, especially show growers do them in big blue barrels. It sounds a logical idea, why not try a few and let us all know if it works but also let us know what to do with 4ft long parsnips .

[eskymo]

i might just do that - got to get my hands on some drainpipe now!

[Lesley Jay]

Eskimo you could grow them in a dust bin. You would get a good length parsnip.