Another way to grow long roots

After my 2007 disaster with these pipes I grew some cracking parsnips last year. They are mounted on some sand retained within a wooden framwork, and I poke an old pointed wooden spade handle ( like a giant dibber) way down through the sand into the soil below to give me a potential root length of about 4'. The only problem with growing in pipes is that it does take a lot more of your mix to fill them so I only grow these 10.














I had started growing these about 5 years ago in order to get shorter but fatter specimens which the judge seemed to favour at Sturton. But then they changed the judge and the new one seemed to prefer the longer, tapering specimens that I normally grow so I pulled these last year for Sileby and had some corkers....not fat like they usually were from these pipes but then it was the new variety 'Pinnacle'. They were the only one's in the class sadly but they were very clean and I wish I'd saved them for Sturton. So I may well do that this year again.














I also see from the 'It happened on this day' piece at the top of my blog that it is exactly 30 years since Maggie came to power. Boy does this country need someone like her again!