Anyone For Parsnips?

I'm still harvesting parsnips from the allotment, though it's a bit of a race against time as they'll be starting to regrow any time now, they'll turn woody and then they won't be much good. I'm preparing them, par boiling them and then freezing them for future use. It's quite handy having ready prepared parsnips just to pop in a roasting dish. I've also given bag fulls away to neighbours, but there's still a row left in the ground.

Some of the parsnips have canker, I've had a few which are quite bad and others with only a slight touch of the disease, but once the affected part has been cut away, the rest of the root is perfectly fine.

I've come across some odd shapes, you'd never see parsnips like these in the supermarket. It can sometimes be a bit of a struggle to peel them when they've forked and the roots are entwined, but it's definitely worth the effort as they're delicious. Some are rather small, but most of them have been quite large, they all get used.

On the whole, I'm really pleased with the blemish free, straight roots that have been harvested.

These parsnips were growing on my new plot when I took it on at the end of last year, it's been lovely to have such a great crop without putting in any effort of growing them myself. I'll have to see if I can do as well with the ones I sow this year.