Parsnip surprise

Parsnip beds

Parsnips, at last! This is a crop I’ve tried to grow almost every year, but until this season, it’ hasn’t come through. Parsnips take a while to germinate, a couple of weeks or more, right in the middle of the spring planting-out rush. Weeds would start to take over, parsnips weren’t a priority, and I’d never find the time to save them. This year’s warm, wet spring made a difference. Germination was quick and the seedlings surged ahead of the weeds! Nearly four months later and, even in dense, unthinned rows, the parsnips are thriving. Yay! Today, I dug up about 6″ (15cm) of a row to check ’em out. With the crowding, there’s a motley assortment of sizes, but overall yield looks good. Another month in the ground, a little post-harvest sorting, and it’ll be parsnips for all!

Parsnips

6 thoughts on “Parsnip surprise”

  1. My grandma used to cook parsnips for me and my brothers when we were young. Back then, I wasn’t a fan of them. Now that I can’t grow them (or find them easily in stores) I have a craving for them. Life is funny like that!

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  2. I grew parsnips this last year but during the winter months–didn’t seem to mind low 20sF at all in Texas.  It was the first time I can recall eating parsnips–man they were good!  The summer fever is finally breaking down here (90s-100s since May) so time to think about parsnips again–thanks for the reminder.

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  3. Oh yah–when will you harvest the sweet potatoes…are they doing okay with the cool summer?  I’m getting close to digging around to see how our patch has done this year.

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  4. We planted our first parsnips a few weeks ago. We planted the tiny seeds on Thursday evening, along with beets, carrots and radishes and used the burlap method that I read about here. Come the first of the following week one of those hurricanes dumped tons of rain on our area (Troutman, NC) over 3 days time. We had 8-12″ of rain in one day in some places! Upon inspection after the storms most was intact but the parsnips looked like a scene from “A River Runs Through It”. There are a few trying to make it but I think most of the seeds ended up in the tomato space. If we dry out enough soon, I may try another bed. Wish us luck!

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  5. I also found out that parsnips like carrots have a very short shelf life for the seed.  I now always try to use seed that is less than one year old. If I go to my second year the germination rate falls precipitiously.

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