Parsnips in Bottles 2014

colinS

I thought it was time to give an audit for 2014 on the results of growing parsnips and carrots in bottles. Previous postings are here with links and pictures.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4780340

I regards to parsnips, I have had another productive year growing in 2ltr bottles, with a harvest of 29LB. I grew two types, Goliath and White Gem. The main bad results have come from delaying the harvesting of my crop; I guess I think too much about the old adage of parsnips tasting better after a bit of frost. I started lifting the first bottles on 2nd Sept., but only because a couple of the White Gem bolted. I lifted the bottles and found out one of the parsnips weighed about 10oz and the other 7oz, I could have eaten them weeks before. I grew quite a lot of bottles this year, and although only a couple of more bolted, it is taking me quite a while to eat the parsnips. Consequently, other pests a diseases have attacked the plants, especially as many of the diseases are fungus caused, and this has been a wet winter so far. I have lifted some bottles and put them in the greenhouse. This made them dry out and easier to get out of the bottles, but then one of our furry friends got in and had a nice feast of carrots and parsnips - the bottles now have flower pots on top of them. I planted up till very late in the season, and the results from these bottles are very good, I am still getting parsnips of about 8oz from them. I also grew some in the 25 kilo bags my coal comes in, they were sown very late in leaf mould. One bag had about eight parsnips in it, but that was pushing it a bit too much, the parsnips were quite small. But I had one with only four, and the total weight of them was 1lb 5oz, which isn't bad for a very late planted crop. I will grow Gladiator again next year, but will try another type also.

I did a lot of "sprouting" for germination this year, and I was quite pleased with the results, I didn't get too many multilegs using this method, which was a nice surprise. I use well soaked cardboard cut from cornflakes packets, fold it over after putting the seeds in, and then wrap it in cling foil. I have a look every day or so, after a few days have gone by, and any seed that has started to sprout I take out and sow. I also add a little water is the cardboard looks a bit dry. I have sprouted and sown in bottles some White Gem seeds from last year, and they now have leaves. I also have sprouted and sown in florist pots some carrot seeds, and also some radishes that look like white carrots on the packet, which I bought last week from Lidl. So I am off for an early start to 2015 with some root veggies

As 2014 carrots, I grew good old Early Nantes, and did very well. I have had problems with carrots splitting, but when you see three large carrots in a bottle you realise that watering is something you have to keep on top of with in this method of growing root vegetables, especially once the carrots are taking up much of the bottle. As I have said, most of my troubles have come from not lifting the bottles early, not from the growing in bottles. I also grew Lidl bought carrots, a large type of carrot. I planted them in very large plastic planters full of leaf mould. These did not have the same resistance to carrot fly that Early Nantes have. But I did plant them late, and once again I should have lifted them a bit earlier. I also grew carrots in the black florist pots that Morrisons sell, and they were ok, but again I planted them late, so they were not too big. The method I used in the pots and planters, was to make circles in the leaf mould with different sized flower pots, and then planting the sprouted seed in even spaces around each circle. I got a nice even sowing using this method, and hardly any pricking out.