growing carrots and parnips?

[biglongdarren]

since finding out that carrots and parnips dont like manure in the ground i've since dug out the two beds that i was gonna put them in...i have a river running along the plot that i can get loads of lovely course sand out off...would half soil/half sand be good or whats the story here?
Darren

 

[drstitson]

for parsnips you are meant to pour boiling water along the furrow just before you sow.

medwyn williams grows root veg in a breeze block deep bed filled with sand - he bores out bores which he fills with compost mix and plants one each.

 

[hedgerow pete]

if we are just growing simple veg then just about this time of year is perfect for prasnips and carrots next month. i have done a short video showing how i make a news paper pot to plant the parsnip seeds into, as where i am i get great trouble getting them going and as its a paper pot they dont suffer from root damage when i plant them out because they dont like being dug up and transplanted.

if on the other hand you want to grow competition veg like medwyn then we need to talk very very silly growing ideas

 

[tonybloke]

the chap who wins at our local shows grows carrots and parsnips in bottomless 45 gal barrels. these are full of pure sand, standing in a tray which he waters into. he feeds with a high phosphorous feed

 

[hedgerow pete]

again the difference between normal people and show people, i have also seen them growing carrots in plastic pipes over 50 foot long so they can protect the roots. barking, absolutly barking

 

[Cazza]

My soil is light and sandy. If it rains in the a.m. I can work it a few hours later. Perfect for parsnips and carrots. No messing about with boiling water or presowing. _ Can't grow a brussel sprout to save my life!
BLD - you need to mix in your drainage material so that a bucket of water disappears quickly. Not sure about 50/50? Try it and see.
Cazza

 

[RoofTops]

BLD - digging out the beds seems like an awful lot of effort for a few carrots but I guess its done now. I would have just grown something else in them this year like potatoes, beans or salad stuff and bought the carrots and parsnips from the local shops.

The problem with creating special beds is you are now probably stuck with them for a limited range of crops and this will prevent a good rotation of crops through the beds which may in turn lead to a build up of disease and/or a reduction in the trace elements those special crops need. I guess carrots and parsnips as a root crop need lots of phospherous, so you may need to add some bone meal after a year or two.