Growing Parsnips
Growing parsnips ...
... A wise addition to the other growing root vegetables in our backyard vegetable garden.
Yes ... our gardener has been heard speaking of the sweetness of roasted parsnips ...
... a favorite vegetable of his childhood ? Not !
He says the opinion poll on the eating of parsnips may change ...
... after a gardener's first harvested parsnips are delivered to the kitchen ...
... the sweet flavour will convince him that growing parsnips is worth the effort.
The secret of ... Growing Parsnips ... is a four way process.
How to grow parsnips
- Plant the best and freshest parsnip seeds ... Most Important ! ...
... last year's seeds ? Not the best ...
... When planting parsnips ... Buy vegetable seeds fresh every year.
.
- Timing ...
The garden soil must be warm ...
... A raised garden bed will warm earlier than the garden plot.
Although this is a vegetable that may stay in the earth all winter and keep well ...
... for the purpose of planting parsnips they are not a cool weather crop ...
... starting these vegetable seeds and warm soil are a good match.
- Regular watering is a priority ...
... a dry period may cause the growing parsnips to become woody.
Mulching ... from the time of planting parsnip seeds ...
... will help keep moisture at an even level.
- Harvest parsnips after the first good frost.
Planting parsnips
As with most other garden vegetables the best location is ...
... well drained ... sunny ... deep Garden Soil prepared with lots of organic compost.
Parsnip seeds are sown directly into the garden soil ...
... because of it's long tap root ...
... the process of starting vegetable seeds indoors and transplanting does not work for these roots.
Plant the seeds in rows 3/4 inch deep 1 inch apart ... cover with light soil or compost.
Planting parsnips
As with most other garden vegetables the best location is ...
... well drained ... sunny ... deep garden soil prepared with lots of organic gardening compost.
Parsnip seeds are sown directly into the garden soil ...
... because of it's long tap root ...
... the process of starting vegetable seeds indoors and transplanting does not work for these roots.
Plant parsnip seeds in rows 3/4 inch deep 1 inch apart ... cover with light soil or compost.
They say the rows should be 12 inches apart ...
... if more intensive vegetable gardening ... rows can be closer together ...
... this needs careful attention to soil preparation .. watering .. feeding.
Once the parsnip plants are up 3 inches some thinning is wise ...
... thin to 3 to 6 inches apart .. closeness means smaller parnips ...
... most gardeners like the larger longer vegetable so 4 to 6 inch spacing works well.
After thinning regular watering and weeding is all that is to be done ...
... applying garden mulch will help with both tasks.
Harvesting parsnips should happen any time after the first good frost ... they become sweeter.
Frost ... the finishing touch in how to grow parsnips !
Digging these vegetables can happen all winter .. as long as the ground is not frozen ...
... finish digging the parsnips in spring.
The best variety of parsnip to grow ...
... according to our local gardening supply shop ...
... is Gladiator ...
... faster germination ... canker resistant ... shorter maturation time.
Our gardener is not aware of any special companion plants for parsnips although ...
... he plants them away from his carrots ...
... they are close relatives and growing carrots may attract ...
... Carrot fly ( rust fly ) ... these guys like carrots ... parsley and growing parsnips too !
... put some distance between these guys.
We vegetables have seen him planting parsnips near Growing Potatoes ...
... with radishes or bush beans.
Growing parsnips is not for everyone ... nor is eating them .
Our gardener likes the rewards of parsnips in the garden ...
... a platter of roasted root vegetables or parsnip with a roast turkey ...
... a must in beef or lamb stew.
Return to top of Growing Parsnips page
More Vegetable Growing Articles of Interest
raised bed gardening › how to grow vegetables › parsnips
Recent Articles
-
Easy to Grow Vegetables, The top 7 according to our gardener
Feb 13, 16 11:42 AM
Of the Easy to Grow Vegetables, our gardener thinks he has some ringers. Especially when container vegetable gardening or growing vegetables in raised garden beds. -
How to Grow Vegetables
Feb 08, 16 02:07 PM
How to Grow Vegetables might be as easy as vegetable plants going to seed this year.Next year the volunteer vegetables are harvested from the back yard! -
Vegetable Garden Pests, Good bugs and Bad Bugs
Feb 01, 16 07:46 AM
Vegetable gardeners....Did you know that vegetable garden pests can be doing good as well as being pesky ?