That's the trouble with our allotments - the soil. The clay is very fertile - this parsnip would feed 3 or 4 people - but the texture of clay and flint makes it very difficult to grow root crops. Hence, every winter, I have to dig in soil improvers. I have already started, with a dozen wheelbarrow loads of manure on one plot (there will be more when the plot is finally emptied) which is then raked flat, and a dozen big bags of compost are put on top. After raking this flat as well, it is dug and allowed to stand over the winter. By the way, this parsnip was grown in ground that had not been manured for 2 years, so that wasn't the reason for the multiplicity of roots. Each year I manure 2 of my 4 plots, and they grow legumes, sweetcorn and the like. On the third, I dig and add some lime for brassicas, and on the fourth I add some general purpose fertiliser, dig and grow onions, parsnips etc. By rotating the plots each year, over a 4 year period everything gets manured twice, and the soil structure is slowly improved. Well, that's the theory anyway!
