For several years my parsnips have grown strongly but gone into weird shapes - several thin roots and sometimes looking like a Dr Who fan's bad dream.I was told this might be due to lumps of unrotted manure buried in the ground, so this year I used only pelleted chicken manure and dug it well in early on. Result? Even worse-shaped roots than usual! Takes about half-an-hour's work at the sink to get a meal out of 3 roots. Anyone got any ideas what's going wrong, please?
John N
Parsnips
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter
Hi John,
Try growing Parsnips in an area using no manure whatsoever. They usually run out of steam by late June/early July and then put a sparse surface coating of chicken pellets along the row and simply hoe the pellets in about an inch and every time it rains the dissolving pellets will leach to where the nutrient is needed, to the fine hair roots, not the main stem. By L June/E July the main roots are advanced enough to withstand the feed without contorting.
JB.
Try growing Parsnips in an area using no manure whatsoever. They usually run out of steam by late June/early July and then put a sparse surface coating of chicken pellets along the row and simply hoe the pellets in about an inch and every time it rains the dissolving pellets will leach to where the nutrient is needed, to the fine hair roots, not the main stem. By L June/E July the main roots are advanced enough to withstand the feed without contorting.
JB.
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I'd always believed that forked roots in parsnips were partly caused by stoney soil, but if you've previously grown them without problems, this can't be what's causing it. Don't know whether the wet summer can be blamed. I'm growing celeriac for the first time and about 50% of my plants have formed no bulbs at all and are just a bundle of stringy roots.
Hello John
Against all the perceived wisdom the year before last I started my parsnips off in 'pots' - well rootrainers actually. I got excellent results! I used the extra large trainers called 'Fleet' (8" size) filled very firmly with soil-less compost, sowing a few seeds in each cell and thinning to one at germination.
This overcame the two main problems with parsnips - first erratic germination and then secondly forking. In most cases the first 8" or so grew very well and when any forking occurred it was below this. The only difficulty is eventually planting out the rootrainer core without disturbing it but if the compost is packed in firmly at sowing it was quite easy.
It might seem a time consuming way of doing things but the other method often recommended of making a deep hole with a crowbar and filling with sifted soil is just as tiresome!
John
Against all the perceived wisdom the year before last I started my parsnips off in 'pots' - well rootrainers actually. I got excellent results! I used the extra large trainers called 'Fleet' (8" size) filled very firmly with soil-less compost, sowing a few seeds in each cell and thinning to one at germination.
This overcame the two main problems with parsnips - first erratic germination and then secondly forking. In most cases the first 8" or so grew very well and when any forking occurred it was below this. The only difficulty is eventually planting out the rootrainer core without disturbing it but if the compost is packed in firmly at sowing it was quite easy.
It might seem a time consuming way of doing things but the other method often recommended of making a deep hole with a crowbar and filling with sifted soil is just as tiresome!
John
The Gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men’s lives, the hours spent fishing Assyrian tablet
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning Werner Heisenberg
I am a man and the world is my urinal
Hi John,
For the last few years I have been pre-germinating my seed prior to planting in the old proverbial bog-roll centres. I sow the seed twixt a fold of well moistened kitchen paper and as the seed is about to root I plant it. I can say this is an almost 100% germination having had the odd on failing to materialise.
The seed swells and if you then observe you can see the growing embryo and you can see then when the seed is about to send out the radicle. Plant at that point in time.
If you were to do a trial now I am sure it may pay dividends for you early next year.
I have solid fuel central heating and I just pop them on top of the boiler which although well insulated gives off about 60 plus degree which seem ideal. I use a petri dish made from the last inch of a plastic milk container which is ideal for the job.
JB.
For the last few years I have been pre-germinating my seed prior to planting in the old proverbial bog-roll centres. I sow the seed twixt a fold of well moistened kitchen paper and as the seed is about to root I plant it. I can say this is an almost 100% germination having had the odd on failing to materialise.
The seed swells and if you then observe you can see the growing embryo and you can see then when the seed is about to send out the radicle. Plant at that point in time.
If you were to do a trial now I am sure it may pay dividends for you early next year.
I have solid fuel central heating and I just pop them on top of the boiler which although well insulated gives off about 60 plus degree which seem ideal. I use a petri dish made from the last inch of a plastic milk container which is ideal for the job.
JB.