About Planning Preparation Care Pests / Disease Harvesting Varieties Shopping Links Forum Topics Blog Entries Articles / Recipes
About Parsnips
Parsnips are native to the Mediterranean. They were common in Europe by the sixteenth century, and brought to North America by early colonists.
Parsnips are among the slowest growing of vegetables and as a result require some very serious patience on the part of the gardener. They can take up to a full year to produce a harvest if grown right. On the other hand they are quite easy to grow, mostly free of pests, and if you know how to enjoy them they are worth the long wait.
Parsnips appear like white carrots although typically they are more tapered with a fatter top and thinner bottom than most carrot varieties. Parsnips have a texture more like potatoes than anything else.
Parsnips are biennial. Given a chance they would send up flower stalks in the second year with white or yellow flowers. Your job as tender to the garden is to prevent this from happening.
Parsnips are planted in the very early spring and can be harvested as early as the late fall after a few freezes, but they produce the sweetest best-tasting harvest when they are allowed to winter in the ground and are picked in the early spring again. This is because their starch content turns to sugar with a freeze.
Parsnips do better in cooler climates but may be grown in the south by planting in early summer and wintering over in the ground for a spring harvest.
Planning
Plan your site for parsnips with the same considerations as for carrots keeping in mind that the parsnips will not allow for multiple plantings as they will occupy their space for the entire growing season.
Parsnips require soil that is deep and moderately rich. The perfect soil for parsnips would be neither too sandy or heavy. Essentially if you plan to grow both carrots and parsnips you can treat the bed or rows the same except you will want to loosen and break the soil deeper for the parsnips. Obstacles will cause branching so be sure to remove any stones from the soil. Soil pH can range from 6.0 to 8.0 and parsnips will remain happy.
If you plan to over-winter your parsnips in the ground plan to mulch them heavily throughout the winter, or pull them before growth begins in the spring. Although they can handle alternating freezing and thawing in the ground, being frozen after harvest will damage them.
Preparation
Parsnips require soil that is deep and moderately rich. The perfect soil for parsnips would be neither too sandy or heavy. Essentially if you plan to grow both carrots and parsnips you can treat the bed or rows the same except you will want to loosen and break the soil deeper for the parsnips. Obstacles will cause branching so be sure to remove any stones from the soil. Soil pH can range from 6.0 to 8.0 and parsnips will remain happy.
Parsnips, because they are so slow to grow, do best in an area of the garden that is as weed-free as possible. They will have difficulty competing with weeds otherwise.
Because parsnips take so long to come up it is easy to forget where they had been planted. For this reason we recommend planting radish seeds in the same spot. You can plant about 1/10th the number of radish seed as parsnip. The radishes will germinate within just a few days, breaking the soil and marking the spot where you had planted the parsnips. The radishes will be ready for harvest just as the parsnips will require their space.
In heavier soils it may be neccessary to dig individual holes rather than long furrows. If you do this dig them 16 to 18 inches deep and 5 inches wide at the top. They should be about 7 to 10 inches apart form one another. Fill each hole with compost or rich, well-worked soil. Plant a few seeds in each hole 1/2 inch deep. Water gently and keep moist until seedlings show. When seedlings come up thin them to one plant per hole.
Care
Once parsnips are up they require very little attention. For good sized roots thin plants when they are 4 to inches tall so they stand about 6 inches apart from one another.
Maintain good moisture to encourage roots that are not woody in texture as they will also lose a great deal of flavor if they get woody. If you did not add a slow-release fertilizer, water once a month with a liquid fertilizer or side dress every month with 3/4 cup 5-10-10 fertilizer or equivalent per 20 feet of row. Utilize shallow cultivation between plants to reduce weeds.
Pests / Disease
Parsnips are one of the rare plants that give us reprieve from pests and disease issues for the most part. You may get celery leaf miners that dig into the leaves. If you do simply scrape off the bumps you find. Parsnips, like carrots, are bothered by the carrot rust fly. Interplanting onions or garlic in the parsnip beds can help keep these pests away.
Harvesting
If you intend to harvest in the fall then dig the roots and store them as you would for carrots. If you will be overwintering in the ground, pile on a think but loose mulch as soon as the ground threatens to freeze. During winter thaw you can pick the roots, but as soon as the ground really softens in the spring be certain to harvest all of them or they will begin to grow again and be woody and inedible.
Parsnip Varieties
Shop for Parsnip Needs
Garden-Helper.com does not yet have a recommendation for your parsnip gardening needs. Check back soon.
Parsnip Links
Amazon.com offers many Parsnip
Recent Forum Entires About Parsnips
There are currently no recent forum entries about parsnips.
Garden Blog Entries about Parsnips
Articles and Recipes With Parsnips
There are currently no articles or recipes with parsnips. Check back soon.