Home Made Compost?

[doopers24]

Could anyone let me know if it is ok to use home made compost dug in before I plant carrot seeds or would they not like this. Also have some parsnips still left in ground, have sprouted new leaves will they still be ok to boil and roast? Sorry if questions seem obvious but I am still quite new to this gardening game.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Mikey & Annie]

Sorry, we've never left parsnips for that long. Ours are usually eaten by February at the latest. As for the carrots, we've heard that they will fork if put in soil that's been recently manured/fed with compost. For that reason, ours go in soil that was 'fed' no sooner than a year ago.

[johntheeng]

It depends on how fine your compost is. As carrots are prone to forking they are better grown in a sandy soil but if your compost is fine give it a try. If they do fork they can still be eaten.

[GMB27]

Give it a go i say, whats the worst that will happen? Some funny shaped carrots!

[doopers24]

my compost is very fine, always leave one lot breaking down, whilst the other is being topped up with kitchen and garden waste, so has been stood since last year, it also feels quite sandy, so this might even help a little, will let people know what happens.

[golden14]

I think using the compost would be fine with the carrot seeds, but think the parsnips will be a bit tough, probably best added to the compost bin for next years!

[Organic Kitchen Gard]

Depends how fertile the soil is where you are growing the carrots. If it had a high fertility soil improver applied last year(eg manure) it won't need another again this year. Leaf mould (low fertility) could be used if you feel the soil stucture needs improving. I think a bit of home made compost is probably fine as it's usually only medium fertility.
Personally don't think last year's parsnips will be wonderful to eat now and best to get them out of the ground to avoid pests/diseases building up.