December on the Allotment: wonky parsnips

Way back in March I had this idea that I wanted to eat homegrown parsnips on Christmas Day. In the world of allotments you have to plan what you want to eat months before you actually get to eat a certain vegetable. I visited a local plant nursery and bought myself some parsnip seedlings. I didn't expect these tiny plants to grow into these incredibly wonky parsnips...

I planted them out in a raised bed in March. They looked so tiny, that I thought the slugs and snails would devour them overnight. As a precaution, I covered the surrounding soil with broken egg shells to deter the munching molluscs. Apart from watering them, they have just been left to get on with it. Nine months later and they are still there, uneaten by the bugs. So on Saturday we made a trip to the allotment to harvest them with Magoo.

Now I know people who are experts at growing vegetables will be horrified by my curly parsnips. On reflection, I think they should not have been grown in a raised bed. We didn't prepare the soil very well in our raised beds this year. I know that when root veg hit something hard like a stone, they grow away from it and end up twisted.

A few weeks ago I was watching Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's War on Waste. They highlighted the mountains of vegetables rejected by supermarkets because they aren't 'perfect'. In particular, they visited a farmer who grew parsnips. This particular Norfolk farm had to bin 20 tonnes of freshly dug parsnips because they were deemed 'wonky'.

I think if a supermarket buyer saw my parsnips, they would pass out. We've all been trained by the supermarkets to expect our veg to be free from mud and perfectly formed. Some of the things we grow on our allotment are pretty odd looking, but shouldn't it be more about what things taste like?

I haven't been put off growing parsnips. In fact, I will definitely be planting more next March. This time we will dig a deeper trench in the main beds of the allotment. This will give the parsnips a chance to grow bigger. I'm not bothered about the shape of them, but it would be nice to have some larger ones.

Having said all that, I am proud of my first crop of parsnips. We roasted them last Sunday and ate them with some slow cooked beef. And do you know what? They tasted bloomin' delicious.

This week I am linking up with these lovely blogs:

Whatever the weather hosted by lifeunexpected.co.uk and monkeyandmouse.co.uk

Country Kids over on the lovely Coombe Mill blog

Let Kids Be Kids over on letkidsbekids.co.uk

How Does Your Garden Grow? over on mammasaurus.co.uk

October on the allotment: parsnips, beetroot and more weeding

I blogged a few weeks ago about looking forward to eating our first ever homegrown parsnips. I planted some tiny plug plants back in May. We've been watering our parsnips & watching the root vegetables grow bigger. I really wanted to eat them on Christmas Day, but impatient as ever, I pulled one up the other day. Well, it's not going to win any prizes in a beauty contest...but then homegrown veg is about taste over aesthetics. Or that's what I'm telling myself anyway...


Magoo has worked her socks off helping out with watering over the Summer. Her favourite thing is to harvest the veg she has been lovingly pouring water over. We have had tons of beetroot this year. One of our favourite meals is 'pink mash'. You basically boil the beetroot with the skin on for about 20-25 minutes. You also boil some potatoes. Once the beetroot has cooked & cooled, you can easily pull the skin off. Then you grate the beetroot. Finally mash the beetroot into the potatoes with loads of creme fraiche, butter & seasoning. Magoo loves 'purple mash' with sausages from our local butcher & oodles of gravy.


The Russians call beetroot 'blood builder' and it is packed with amazing nutrients. I find the 'purple mash' recipe is a great way to get Magoo to eat beetroot. I also like to mix raw grated beetroot & carrot with a little oil, seasoning & some sesame seeds to make a simple dish to have with salad. Raw beetroot packs even more of a nutritional punch.
We've had a mild Autumn this year, so we've managed to spend quite a bit of time at the allotment. But it is getting to the time when the crops have been harvested and the beds are getting empty...and that's when the weeds take over! We've got to have a major Autumn tidy-up & then cover the soil for the Winter months. We have toyed with the idea of planting a green manure crop, but we haven't been organised enough this year.
That's the good thing about gardening & allotments - there's always next year to plan for.
This week I'm linking up with:
"How Does Your Garden Grow" over on the beautiful mammasaurus.co.uk

"Whatever the Weather" over on www.lifeunexpected.co.uk and monkeyandmouse.co.uk
"Let Kids be Kids" over on letkidsbekids.co.uk
Country Kids over on the Coombemill Blog
Image of the Week over on www.trulymadlykids.co.uk