katty19

hi
Hi can anyone tell me what went wrong please?? Parsnips have been very disappointing - the crowns looked a good size but when I pulled two up they had hardly grown at all.. stubby and very badly formed, one had several shoots on it; the foliage had gone mad so I suspect the goodness had gone into the leaves. The carrots seem to be going the same way Any advice on what went wrong & for future attempsts would be much appreciated. Thank you.

__________________
Hoover Bags

KevinB

Did you feed? Sounds like they got more nitrogen than anything else.
Before I even read "I suspect the goodness had gone into the leaves" I thought of an experement I did some years ago; vitamin B1 (yes, the same chemical humans use) is used by plants to grow roots. I used a small pinch off of one pill disolved in 1 gallon of water to feed some seedlings. They seemed to stop growing as soon as I did. I pulled a few up a month later and they had gigantic, well developed roots. just a few little leaves. I assume I gave them to much of the B1 and actually stunted the leaf growth. I suggest maybe you have the reverse problem; Try using a lot less nitrogen. Lawn food is all nitrogen; even if they are just near it that could be doing it.
You might also want to carry on my B1 work (it worked great on tulips and lilys) but be careful, a little goes a long way.

Also Mods, could you move this thread to "off topic"?