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Carrots, Parsnips - Manure?
Mark-E
Posts: 184
in Fruit & veg
Hi,
I have recently got around to creating a raised veg plot within my garden. Previously the whole area was concreted over for many years. I put some manure within the plot to add some nutrients to the soil.
I have read on here snd other sites thst carrots and parsnips wont grow well in manured soil, but also read on some sites that it is a myth. I was wondering if anyone had first hand experience in trying to plant in manured soil and what the results were.
Many thanks,
Mark
0
Posts
They'll grow, but they're likely to mis-shaped and forked. Still edible, but not so pretty.
As far as I remember, it depends how long the manure has been left to rot into the soil.
As a lad I did grow carrots in freshly manured earth and they were fine (tastewise) but as hostafan says mostly had forked roots, so just not as pretty.
Don't stress too much unless you were going to enter a competition with 'em, and remember for next year.
If you manured the earth in the autumn and are planning on sowing sometime soon, you'll be fine.
Good luck
Pete
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Great, im not really fussed at the shapes they come out.
Thanks for the replies.
Root veg are best grown in soil manured the year before.
Hello Mark - the problem with odd-shaped/forked carrots is that you end up with a poorer yield (i.e. what ends up on your plate) because you end up peeling a whole lot more off each individual carrot. OK if you just scrub them & cook them, but most people don't do that. I sometimes wonder whether anybody's actually weighed, say, a potato, before & after peeling, just to see how much of it they throw away!
You would have a fit if you saw my mum prepare parsnips, she cut then on half throwing the pointed end away, then peels, thickly, then cores it like an apple, I sometimes bring the fat end in and use them for us, still, all the more for my compost bins I suppose.
Think i might grow them in tubs this year. Anything else that doesnt like manure i should avoid?
Mark, manure is fine, it just needs to be well rottedand NOT fresh. If you get fresh manure, put it to one side to rot down and mature. Do not use it on root crops, ( carrots, parsnips, swedes or turnips ) Use well rotted manure on onions, garlic and the like and any peas and beans. If you want decent rootcrops use superphosphate.