Parsnips in November

Yes, you read that right. I'm blogging about parsnips. I mean look at them. The top freak parsnip has since passed on. It was picked, photographed, roasted, and eaten yesterday.

I'm no expert on growing root vegetables but I believe that the rootiness of this little chap can be explained by the heavy, clay soil in my garden. When the main root meets too much resistence it starts putting out other roots. In years past, carrots unable to penetrate the earth pushed themselves right out of the ground. I've cut the earth with compost and other organic matter but the soil is still fairly compact.

Other gardeners have told me this can happen quite quickly here with our heavy rainfall. So this year I'll be doubling leaf-collecting efforts so that by spring I'll have a nice, airy mulch and maybe my parsnips will grow longer and straighter.

Not that it matters that much when they taste as good as this bunch did.