01 - 31 December

Saturday, 13 December 2025

Lifting Parsnips and leeks

Over the past few weeks, we’ve had a steady delivery of manure each weekend. We’ve been popping down to the allotment to spread it over beds that are covered with weed control fabric, with some also stockpiled for future use once it has fully broken down. This weekend, we decided to lift some more parsnips and also a few leeks to check whether they were ready for the kitchen. Last week we lifted a single parsnip, which was in tip-top condition, so I was expecting the rest to be the same. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Most of the roots were affected by canker, some so badly that they were unusable. We did manage to find a couple of healthy roots, but it was disappointing to lose so many. The leeks we lifted were on the small side, but hopefully they’ll still be fine for cooking