Received a packet of parsnip seeds on the 31-12-11 from the garden catalogue that i use.The name of the seeds are called duchess F1. I have not got a lot of experience in growing long parsnips so if anyone can give me some advice i would appreciate it very much. It has gone through my mind that you grow them more or less the same way as carrots. Also what length of time do they require if growing for shows
I mentioned in my garden list for 2012 that i only have a small garden for veg but i think i might be able to squeeze in a few more tubes for the parsnips. I think this year is going to be very interesting based on last year as my health was very bad and i am afraid i lost out on quite a lot but still that was then so lets keep our fingers crossed.
In my next blogg i will be showing some pictures of my seed-plant nursery which i keep in my 10ft green house.,it is only 4ft long and18inches wide and it is surprising what you can get in it. It is made out of house insulation boards and it is 2in thick ,it is also held together with 3" nails which you only have to push in and then put duct tape on the corners. the bottom is one full sheet in which you build the sides on. JOB DONE.
By the way you fit the lighting and heating system in after you have finished building.
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I grew a handful of long parsnips in 4" pipes last year - the picture is currently the header on my blog. I was really pleased with them although they need more weight to be real contenders at a show level. I grow the variety Gladiator and will be sowing in mid-Feb for the end of July New Forest Show (NVS Southern Championship) but this time in 6" pipes which I've just got hold of. If you look down the side of my blog you'll see a link to Blicky's Blog (Darren) who has loads of tips for growing long snips and carrots. Good luck for the new season!
ReplyDeleteHi damo, I must say how impressed i was when reading your blog especially about the range of veg that you grow.I would imagine that you must spend quite a lot of time deciding whare and when you are going to grow everything. Mind you some gardeners dont like growing items in the same spot every year ,but i myself do believe that as long as you feed the soil you dont or should not have a problem. Why i say that is because i have now been gardening for over sixty years i still carry on planting and tilling as i was taught when i was young.After saying all that i do realize that you have got to go with the times and yes i do take note of what a lot of gardeners say which the best thing to do especially if you are going into the showing.The one thing that bothers me is that i have not heard of any one say that they have grown a very large onion out in the open i am referring to a 8-10lb onion. Now down to the carrots, i did last year just gone manage to grow a 4ft carrot which you will see a photo on my blogg and also stump carrots which i grew in pop bottles and after all sed and done they were not to bad. I think the main thing i need to do is make sure i grow one that is well structured from top to bottom as i am hoping to enter shows this year.As i have said before i have not got a big garden at the back back of my house but with a little a little bit of luck i will be growing some nice onions. there is one more i will be adding to my veg list which i have grown before and they are called showmaster onions and believe me they are very very good. I will give info on the flower seed and plants later on.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much. Your long and stump carrots look good. It's always a challenge to keep the watering consistent so they don't get checked at any stage in their growth. I do grow a little of everything and try to rotate as much as possible but I don't get too hung up about being precise year on year. As you say with good soil preparation the veg should do well. I have not seen a large outdoor onion grown, they are all in beds in polytunnels although I have seen good sized ones grown in large pots but again they're under cover. I've not heard of showmaster before, I'm growing a few from sets - hercules and centurion and I might see if I can pick up some Toughball as well. My main priority is the carrots as I was quite pleased with them last year. Best of luck!
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