How to Grow Parsnips

Growing Parsnips
Before the potato was introduced into Europe in the late 16th century, the parsnip was largely used in cooking. Few vegetables are as easy to grow, as nutritious or as versatile.

PARSNIP QUICK GUIDE

Latin Name
Pastinaca sativa

Type
Hardy biennial grown as an annual.

Site and Soil
The best soil is rich and slightly heavy.

Sowing to Harvest Time
6-11 months

How Many?
Yield about 14 medium sized parsnips per 3m (10') row.

Parsnips are available as a fresh vegetable throughout the winter, actually improving as the winter progresses and especially if a frost gets to the roots. They can be baked, boiled or fried and the leaves can also be eaten as a green vegetable, getting double value from the crop.

The problem with growing parsnips is that they have a very long growing season. They are one of the first crops to be sown and probably the last crop to be harvested. They occupy the land for the year, thus taking up land which could be used for growing a series of crops.

If you have a small garden you may decide against growing parsnips for this reason, although you may decide to grow a catch crop such as radishes or lettuce, before the parsnips become established in the spring.

Where To Grow Your Parsnips
Soil is the most important factor when growing parsnips. If you have thin gravelly soil you will only get small mis-shapen roots The best soil is rich and slightly on the heavy side, although it should not be recently manured as this causes the parsnip to fork as they do if growing on stony ground. Almost all well drained soils will produce a good crop. Level the bed off to give a fine tilth a day or two before sowing, which will normally be as soon as conditions allow in the late winter or early spring.

Parsnips dislike very acid soil and do best in one which is slightly acid, neutral or slightly alkaline, test your soil with a soil test kit several weeks before preparing the seed bed and if necessary, add lime to achieve a pH of 6.5. The site you choose for parsnips is not as important as the soil, they prefer an open sunny site, but they will also grow quite happily in a lightly shaded plot.

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