Abandoned Veggies

When we took on our new allotment, it had just about all been cleared. I mentioned previously that lots of soft fruit bushes and canes have been left behind, but nearly all the veg which had been growing had been lifted so that the majority of the plot is now bare. There's one exception, parsnips. They don't look much more than weeds at this time of year, but it's what's underground that matters.

The previous plot owners have left absolutely loads of parsnips behind. If I'd been them I'd have been tempted to lift them and take them with me. In fact, that's what we did on our old plot. Parsnips were the only things we had growing, so we didn't want to leave them behind. Delicious they were too. On our new plot, there's two full rows left, and we've already dug up and used an extra half row.

They've grown really well so it's a shame that the old plot holders aren't reaping the rewards of their hard work, but I'm not complaining, this lot should keep us going for quite some time. I keep lifting more than I need for one meal so that I can par boil them and freeze them for use later, otherwise they'll end up going woody before we get round to using them all.

As you can see from the photos, they're a great size. At least I know that parsnips should grow well on the plot for me.