I love parsnips, great mashed with carrots and a bit butter, roasted or in a stew. Never grown them though as my climate is to warm as they need a cold period to give them that sweet taste. But from what I know they are really fickle to germinate and require a long time to grow.

I only just discovered parsnips this year and I love them! I just decided to throw some into my roasted vegetables (usually carrots, onions, peppers, mushrooms, white or sweet potatoes - all coated with olive oil and roasted until tender) and see what they were like .

OMG! Where were they my whole life? So delicious!

I am definately growing them this year so I'm interested in whatever advise you get here.

Parsnips are actually a fun thing to grow. While you can buy them in the store, some things just seem more satisfying if grown at home. I've grown some whoppers that are a lot bigger than any from the supermarket.

Flavor: The flavor is the same as carrot, but sort of subtle -- perhaps "a mild carrot flavor" is the best way to describe it. They are sort of intermediate between carrots and potatoes in starchiness. You can do pretty much anything with them you can do with carrots or with potatoes. Parsnip fries, made like french fries, are a really yummy treat, although I do them maybe once every 2 or 3 years, since we can't eat a lot of deep fried stuff.

Actually, as long as the seed is fresh (for the current year), you keep the bed moist during germination, which can take 3 to 4 weeks, you shouldn't have much problem with them. Drying the bed out is what causes issues with germination.

And yes, it's pretty fragile seed -- buy fresh each year.

Easy to overwinter the roots -- they are hardier than carrots, and should overwinter even in Zone 4 with no issues. The plants are actually quite attractive, sort of like any other umbel family plant -- kind of looks like lovage or parsley gone to seed, but bigger. A good plant to draw pollinators. Gather the heads when the seeds are brown and turning dry, but before they shatter. Dry the seed in proper seed-saving manner, then I'd suggest storing in the freezer over the winter. They will self-sow, but since it will be like August at this point, the little seedlings won't have time to size up edible roots, and then will bolt to seed the next spring.

As far as the varieties go, there aren't a lot of them out there. Harris Model and Hollow Crown are the two most common open pollinated ones. There are a couple of hybrids for commercial production -- Stokes and Johnny's would probably have these. There are a few heirlooms too, I think I've seen one called Cobham's Marrow. I guess there is even a round-rooted heirloom that looks more like a beet in shape, but I've not grown it. I haven't ever noticed that much difference between the Harris Model and the Hollow Crown - I think H.M. tends to be a little more slender, kind of like an Imperator type carrot in shape, whereas the Hollow Crown is a little broader-shouldered and squat, sort of more like a Danvers type carrot in shape.

Finally, one thing I learned the hard way. Some people can develop a poison-ivy type rash from exposure to parsnip sap and essential oils WHEN the exposure happens in bright light (like on a sunny day). It is an interreaction between chemicals in the sap and the sunlight. So, when you weed or work with parsnips, I'd suggest doing it early or late in the day, or when heavily overcast, wear long sleeves, and wash well afterwards. I got big, red, fluid filled blisters that turned itchy afterwards. Luckily, they didn't spread like poison ivy, and went away in about 2 or 3 days with...

Denninmi,

Thsnk you for the great information and hints.

"And yes, it's pretty fragile seed -- buy fresh each year."

I wonder if I could freeze seed and extended the life of it till next year, because I have three times the amount of seed that I will need for this season?

When can the seed be harvested from overwintered plants?

thanks,
Dean

I grew them in Colorado with no problems. As soon as the ground started to thaw and before they start to sprout or soon after I dug them up, my children loved them fried, they couldn't get enough as they turn very sweet like sugar.
Paul

Dean -- if you overwinter the plants, they'll bloom in June/July, and the seeds should be ripe for harvest late July/early August. Which is why they won't successfully self-sow for vegetable use -- the seeds that fall on the ground will germinate right away, but not have enough time to grow useful roots in northern climates. Then, they'll bolt to seed the following spring. In the South, they probably could successfully self-sow and still have time to make edible, useful sized roots.

If you have extra seed, it would be worth trying to store them in the freezer. I haven't ever done this, but I guess it might work -- after all, they store crop seeds long-term in seed preservation banks this way, albeit a lot colder than a home freezer.

I do know from personal experience that extra seed stored for the next year in normal household conditions will have very poor to no germination, which is why I buy fresh every year.

Dean -- if you overwinter the plants, they'll bloom in June/July, and the seeds should be ripe for harvest late July/early August. Which is why they won't successfully self-sow for vegetable use -- the seeds that fall on the ground will germinate right away, but not have enough time to grow useful roots in northern climates. Then, they'll bolt to seed the following spring. In the South, they probably could successfully self-sow and still have time to make edible, useful sized roots.

If you have extra seed, it would be worth trying to store them in the freezer. I haven't ever done this, but I guess it might work -- after all, they store crop seeds long-term in seed preservation banks this way, albeit a lot colder than a home freezer.

I do know from personal experience that extra seed stored for the next year in normal household conditions will have very poor to no germination, which is why I buy fresh every year.

denninmi,

" you should also consider growing root parsley"

Where do they sale root parsley?

Dean

Hi All:

I grow in containers and raised beds. Is anyone aware of a short, stubby parsnip that would be a good choice for these types of planters? Thanks

-Mark

Hi Dean
This thread caught my eye because I love parsnips, and have grown them often on Long Island where I live. My only suggestion to you is this...try to remove all stone and pebbles in the area you want to grow them in, this way they will grow straight without forking. I've dug down at least a foot to remove all stones in the bed I plant them in, and they came out great. Hope that helps.

Alberta

Dean:

Root parsley is the variety tuberosum. There aren't too many varieties, but a fair number of seed companies carry it. Here are a few of the sources I found:

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-7525-arat.aspx

http://www.gourmetseed.com/c=zpYdk3vavovd4i2a46UxGAhXh/category/gourmet_seed.herb_seed.parsley/

http://www.cooksgarden.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/_/Parsley-Hamburg-Parsnip-Rooted/productID/f5bd91e7-4e4e-4b49-a392-717bc8bf7d22/categoryID/7b4ca102-acb3-4101-970e-ded9383fa96d/

Wish I could remove all the stones in my soil ;) but there is a never ending supply of them! Nevertheless, they do well here in hot Oklahoma. Below is a link to a discussion on parsnips on the Oklahoma Gardening Forum. In it we even discuss how to produce your own seed.

I have successfully grown from 2 year old seed (Cobham Improved Marrow). The plants produce seed in their second season, and they are about 6' tall when they do. I get good production, in spite of our rocky soil.

George
Tahlequah, OK

Here is a link that might be useful: Parsnip thread on Oklahoma Gardening forum

paloaltomark, hmmm...Palo Alto CA? I am afraid you (and I) are too warm for parsnips, one of the few crops we can't grow in zone 9 (or is Palo Alto zone 10?). Such a pity since I love them and a gardening friend from OR just sent us some fresh seed. We thought of crazy things like dumping some ice cubes on them but that is not sustainable or practical. I would like to be wrong about this, has anyone grown parsnips in zone 9? that taste like anything?

George, I have very rocky soil. I sift the soil that goes into our raised carrot and beets beds. Lots of work but the carrots do great. Sifting is not that hard if you do it for a small raised bed only.

I am too a parsnip fan. Roasted and eaten as-is or blended in soup, with good stock, it works much better than carrots (carrots are fine too, but they have other uses in the kitchen). But it is in meat and vegetables stews that parsnips shine, difficult to describe but let me just say it is the perfect stew vegetable.

Forget about growing them in heavy soil, more so than carrots because with carrots at least you can plant the stubby ones. Otherwise it is pretty trouble-free, but the seed takes forever to germinate and you have to water the row while it sits there. And yes, like many winter vegetables, do not touch it until 2 weeks after first frost.

I have a bag of seeds that I harvested five years ago (see Dennis' posts about when to harvest. It is very prolific, two plants give all the seeds you need). Last year the seeds sprouted fine. It has been in the freezer all the time. If you keep them out of the freezer, they are said to die in a year.

Hi Cabrita:

I am zone 9 but I have a greenhouse. What if I were to plant them in a container inside the greenhouse? I might be able to start them in the late fall or maybe in Jan/Feb and get a harvest. Has anyone tried this?

I found this site very interesting. They have a beet-shaped parsnip!

Here is a link that might be useful: Parsnips

I have heavy, rocky soil. Like Cabrita, I worked hard at getting rid of stones, even screening soil; the first time I grew parsnips. I don't do that any more, and they do alright. Carrots, on the other hand, have not done well for me at all. But I suspect that's more of a climate issue.

George

Hey, I checked out that link (Parsnips)by Milehighgirl. That is a great company! Wow! So many unique varieties!

Don't know if this helps you people in zone 9 but I love parsnips, and mine where pretty big before the first frost, and I couldn't help myself so I pulled up a couple and throw them in the freezer, for 1/2 an hour in a bag mud on, they where lovely admittedly not as good as the ones I took later, after a few frosts but still good, Is that the problem? or is it just too hot to grow them?

I believe the common complaint, in warmer climates, is simply that, without the hard frost, they do not sweeten up. Anywhere one has a couple three weeks to a month of cool, moist weather, I would think they could be grown. The question is how will they be flavor wise?

George

Thank you everyone for the great information.

Denninmi, I am getting seeds to grow Root Parsley, the Berlin Variety.

I think I will try freezing my extra seeds. How can I germination test them before planting?

thanks,
Dean

Dean, I imagine one could place a fair number of seeds in a damp paper towel , inside a plastic bag which is open on one end, and wait a couple weeks to see how many germinate. It would probably work best if one stored the bag in a place at about 50 F.

George

deanriowa, where did you find the Root Parsley seeds?

I am making a request in the Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook, and I am making a private trade from another forum.

The root parsley sounds like something different and I am looking forward to growing them.

Dean

Hi MileHighGirl:

I'm going to give the round parsnips a shot in containers and see what happens.

-PlanterTomato

An interesting bit of history with the parsnip: up until the widespread adoption of the potato in Europe (not uniformly so, but around 1750's), the parsnip was THE vegetable staple for almost all households in central and northern Europe. In all of the research I have done about medieval and late medieval vegetables it is the parsnip that turns up every time.

Funny how a vegetable so important for so long is now considered a fringe food.

Michael

I have already created my parsnip seed tapes for the coming season. I plan on planting 2 x 20' rows, as that ought to be enough for my trail of parsnips, since I have not even tried eating a parsnip yet.

I still wonder what success I will have in trying freeze the parsnips seeds for planting next year?

I want to over winter a couple of the Harris Model parsnips so I have seeds in two years and I want to try another variety next year.

What variety of parsnips, does everyone like?

thanks,
Dean

Dean, I have not met a parsnip that I didn't like. I grow Cobham Improved Marrow. But I believe I've eaten some of the other more common types (here in the USA) and they are all good.

I'm sure that you can freeze the seed, at the very least for another year. My frozen, two year old seed, germinated last year, as if it were brand new.

George

Macmex, Cobham Improved Marrow is a nice looking parsnip at this link, thank you for the recommendation.

Any other parsnip variety recommendations?

thanks,
Dean