Orto Successes and Failures

Glad to hear about your successes. Regarding failures, I´m afraid parsnips are not the topic for me to give any advice; however, mange-tout could be suffering from not enough shelter or maybe the soil was too rich. In that case, they would have produced too many leaves and not enough pods.... Was this the case?

Have you ever had success with parsnips? We've tried a couple of times and absolutely nothing has appeared.Shame because we do like the odd roast parsnip. Onions are a huge success, but garlic a non-starter. Everything else, pretty good. Olives looking rather good too at the moment.

I must ask the british food shop to try getting Parsnips, although I know the fact that their shipping delays could be a problem. I have some friends here that grew some two years ago, but they were very thin and LONnnnnnnG......... Another friend saidthey would bring some out for me (which they did), and brought enough to keep us going for a few years, we had to share them out............. S

Somebody told me that parsnips need a long, cold winter and I have never lived in regions with those characteristics. For this reason, I prefer to go to my friendly greengrocer's. Whenever climate conditions are not suitable, I do not take any chances.

They have been shaded, pre-started in pots, but have not grown higher than a couple of inches. Will have to experiment a bit more, maybe clay soil is not good for them. As for the parsnips, this is the first year of trying!!!

Trying to get variety again this year, so hope all goes to plan. Couple of tomato plants, plum and cherry type. Half a dozen green bean plants Courgette 1 normal and 1 round. Baby sweet corn. Swedes, Kohlrabi and Turnips. All started from individual seed trays this yearand all growing well at the moment. Thai Bird chillies and Pea Aubergines. MangeTout trying again, starting in pots first, then going to transplant with lots of shade Parsnips again in individual seed trays, probably replant into pots to develop prior to going into the ground. Lemon Grass. (Rather late this year planting, but still have a good supply from 2010 in the freezer. Plus the norms, Basil, Mint, Chives, Rosemary, Sage.

Parsnips are very easy for us. Our soil has only had a couple of years of improvement (manure) from being completely closed, compressed and rock hard solid clay. However, they're sewn directly and thinned out. Last year I shaded them a little but generally they're just left to their own devices. I wouldn't personally try and bring them on in seed trays etc first since they develop those long tap roots very early on and if you interfere with that, you're interfering with the shape of your parsnip. Here's a couple of images. The first shows a 'regular' sized parsnip against the monsters that we've produced. They're lovely and sweet despite their size.

Thanks AndyT, will keep trying to get them right.

Now them's Parsnips. I hope my seedlings this year turn into something like those....

My orto is as ever a dismal failure (apart from the tomatoes) raised beds and improved soil, but nothing thrives, have given the limp lettuce to the eggless chicken (another failure...hasnt laid in years) dont know where we go wrong. On the plus side looks like a bumper crop of olives this year and all the herbs are doing well. So much for the good life.

Was hoping for a good crop of walnuts this year for pickling, but very few on the tree. The peach trees still need some rain. The grape vine on the front of the house has gone mad again this year, but unfortunately, we have to keep cutting off the lower bunches to stop the dogs from eating them as they are toxic.