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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.
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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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