The first year we grew parsnips I started them off undercover in loo rolls and planted them out on the plot when they started to show. It was a great success, everything germinated and everything grew into some fantastic parsnips. I was told parsnips were a hassle to grow, but it wasn’t for us. Then came the second year and it showed we had beginner’s luck in the first. I planted some in the garden and also went made and sowed four rows on the plot, we only saw about 10 of them, They either didn’t germinate or something eat them. The ones at home were not too bad, but it wasn’t the mass of parsnips was I expecting.

This year I have sown some direct in the ground at home and it looks like most have come up, it’s hard to tell as the radish with them have come up a lot quicker. I put some in loo rolls but only half of them germinated. Those that have done I took up to the plot and planted, covering them in mess because at the plot we suffer from some small black beetle things that eat parsnips, carrots, celeriac. We resorted to chemical warfare last year and we won’t hold back this year. About 12 seedlings were put out. I might sow some more at the weekend, see what comes of them, although it’s getting on to be a bit late.

People say you can’t transplant parsnips and to a degree that is true, but I feel if you have them in loo rolls and plant them out when they are quite small, then you can get lucky.

With all the rain and sun everything has doubled in size. The raspberries were hardly anything last week, now they are small little bushes.

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