Parsnips

Overview

Parsnips – Pastinaca sativa                                                   Rotation group - Roots

Parsnips are a hardy winter vegetable but they require a long growing season. They will occupy the ground from sowing the seed in March until the last of the roots are lifted twelve months later. Even then they can be dug up and stored under cool conditions for a couple of weeks longer. They are one of the most important sources of fresh, healthy produce during the dark days of winter.

Varieties to choose (all sold by Kings Seeds)

• Tender and True (AGM) - one of the most popular varieties. Very uniform, pale coloured skin and outstanding flavour
• White King - semi-long roots with smooth cream white skin and flesh. Finest flavour in Kings' opinion
• Student - Long slender roots with a small central core and pleasant flavour. One of the first cultivated varities

How to grow

Sow

Parsnips are grown from seed that is sown directly into the soil. The seed can take up to three weeks to germinate it needs to be sown at the earliest opportunity from March onwards. Always delay sowing if the weather and soil conditions are cold and wet these will cause the seed to rot in the soil. It is much better to delay sowing until the conditions are warmer which may mean waiting until early May. The later the seed is sown produces slightly smaller parsnips. Always wait for a still, calm day to sow the seed. Parsnip seed is large but very light and will blow away on windy days. Sow the seed in 1ins/25mm deep drills, water along each drill with a watering can containing liquid seaweed beforehand to help the germinating seedlings. It saves on time and seeds to sow 2 or 3 seeds at 6ins/15 cm spacings along the row. Thin the seedlings to one at the first true leaf stage leaving one per station before eventually finally thinning to one seedling at every 12ins/15cm apart in the row. Always water along the row afterwards to settle the soil around seedlings.

Growing on

After the parsnips seedlings have been thinned and begin to grow all they require is regular watering to encourage steady growth of the roots. Feed once a month with liquid seaweed. Because of the wide spacing between the seedlings and the rows during the early stages of their growth there will be wide open spaces of bare soil between the young parsnips. It is important to regularly hoe between the plants to keep soil free of competitive weeds and to create a dust mulch that will help to the conserve precious soil moisture.

Aftercare

Apart from the regular watering, feeding and weed control there is little else needed to be done to keep the parsnips growing steadily through the summer months.

How to Harvest

Parsnips are not ready for lifting until at least November and then only after they have been exposed to the first of the winter frosts. The frost checks the plants stopping them growing any larger, but more importantly the chilling effect starts to turn the parsnip’s starches into sugars giving them their distinctive flavour.

The parsnip roots that are offered for sale at the end of summer are especially bred commercial cultivars that contain high levels of sugar to overcome the lack of frost. The parsnip is an ideal winter vegetable because it is hardy to survive the winter and provide fresh food right through the winter. Parsnip roots can also be lifted and stored in buckets of moist old compost or garden soil if it looks like the ground may be frozen for a spell.

Well grown parsnips Can grow 18ins/45cms long and 4ins/10cms across the top so they need lifting with care to avoid causing them too much damage and snapping the roots. Lift the roots using a garden fork, plunge it into the soil a little way from the edge of the shoulder. Don’t try and lever it out of the ground in one go. Work around the root loosening the soil before finally digging it up. You may find that the top of the tines of the fork vanishing into the soil. Wash away any soil on the root, trim off any little side roots and root hairs and finally remove the foliage just above the shoulders.

 

Issues

Parsnips are generally trouble free to grow. They can suffer from canker in cold, wet conditions but the seed companies have bred canker resistant cultivars to overcome this problem. Employing crop rotations and delaying the seed sowing until late April – May can also help because smaller parsnips are less prone to suffering from canker.

Forking of the roots is caused by irregular watering or shallow, ill prepared soil.