Parsnip drums

As mentioned in the previous post I'm growing my parsnips in drums this year. A couple of weeks ago I emptied them all out and refilled them. If you don't do this the sand gets compacted and it's very difficult to bore the holes. There is also a lot of compost from the previous year's bore holes so you are also able to mix this with the sand so that over the years the sand starts to get darker and darker.The first drum is emptied into a large rubble sack, the second drum is empied into the first drum and so on until the sand from the rubble sack is put back into the final drum (see arrows in pic).


As you're doing this every 10 spadefuls or so I sterilise the sand to get rid of any nasties that may be lurking such as various root rot spores or carrot fly eggs. I use a strong solution of Jeyes Fluid or Armillatox. Each drum is filled to 6" or so of the top and then covered with a pane of glass to allow the sand to settle. The pane of glass also stops the cats from doing their business.