Winter veg question

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TishTash
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Winter veg question

Postby TishTash » Sun Aug 19, 2018 12:04 pm

I miss parsnips :( I've read that they can be difficult to grow and I'm not a good gardener but I'm willing to give it a go.

A kind neighbour has given me a small allotment to use and so far my tomatoes and peppers are doing incredibly well. He waters everything for me :)

Can I plant parsnips in Autumn? or is it a Spring plant?

I would also like to try and grow spinach and courgettes, when would be the best time to plant those?

Any tips would be very much appreciated :)

I'm 3k feet up in the mountains and I do get snow and frosts here. Top of Granada-bottom of Jaen.

wollie
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Re: Winter veg question

Postby wollie » Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:00 pm

I would plant the parsnips now, try to avoid exposure to north wind and let them have as much sun as possible.
It may not be a success depending on the weather but your just talking about 50 cent of seed.
If it works you have parsnip for Christmas, its below the ground and the frost has literally no effect on the vegetable.
I would buy good quality organic seed as makes all the difference, the seed the supermarkets have are iffy....

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gerrynag
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Re: Winter veg question

Postby gerrynag » Mon Aug 27, 2018 2:18 pm

TishTash wrote:I miss parsnips :( I've read that they can be difficult to grow and I'm not a good gardener but I'm willing to give it a go.

A kind neighbour has given me a small allotment to use and so far my tomatoes and peppers are doing incredibly well. He waters everything for me :)

Can I plant parsnips in Autumn? or is it a Spring plant?

I would also like to try and grow spinach and courgettes, when would be the best time to plant those?

Any tips would be very much appreciated :)

I'm 3k feet up in the mountains and I do get snow and frosts here. Top of Granada-bottom of Jaen.
Basically you can plant Parsnips either late summer/autumn or late winter/spring. Personnally I would plant them in the autumn when it's cooler and hopefully it has rained and soil is damp. You need to keep them well watered otherwise the parsnips will fork and become woody. They can also be difficult to germinate.

You can plant the spinach at the same time as the Parsnips, say next month.
Courgettes normally are planted in late winter/early spring, say March/April, if frosts finished.

Gasman
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Re: Winter veg question

Postby Gasman » Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:05 pm

Have you considered what we call Swiss Chard, like a kind of perenial spinnach, which grows practically wild in the south of Spain - will self-seed, is water-shortage hardy, and which is also quite tasty, if you like that kind of thing? It is called Acelga in spanish.
Not sure you will have much success with Parsnips - they are fussy things to grow.

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gerrynag
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Re: Winter veg question

Postby gerrynag » Tue Aug 28, 2018 1:25 pm

Grew Swiss Chard last winter.....it certainly grows very well...but it is a bit of an acquired taste. My advice is don't grow too much, ....4 or 5 plants is ample, otherwise unless you have lots of people you can give it away to.....or a big freezer....you will be sick of the sight of it. :crazy:


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