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Gardening Tips - Plotting For Parsnips
The parsnip, like other traditional vegetables, fell out of favour for a long time but is now firmly re-established in the culinary world and receiving the attention it deserves. Indeed, the parsnip preceeded the potato by a few centuries in many parts of northern Europe and fulfilled the ubiquitious role that now belongs to the potato.
It is a vegetable commonly grown by organic back gardeners but not on a large scale commercially in the organic world. The long growing season and substantial space required by individual roots means that other more financially rewarding crops could be produced from the same ground in less time and with less effort. Which brings me to the question of price - in general parsnips fetch the same price as carrots at market but to my mind a reasonable premium is needed to make them a worthwhile crop to grow.
While parsnips will grow on most types of soil ideal conditions are a rich sandy to silty loam slightly on the heavy side. The tendency recently has been to grow slightly shorter and slimmer varieties of roots so a huge depth of soil is not necessary. A stone free environment is a pre-requisite to avoid forking and for this reason freshly manured soils should also be avoided. Parsnips like a pH somewhere around neutral and will grow well in sunny or slightly shaded conditions.
Soil and ground preparation are important to grow a good commercial crop. The soil should be tilled to a depth of a few inches deeper than the intended length of the roots. Early sowing is nearly always recommended for parsnips but I feel early spring is often too soon and unsuitable soil conditions and low temperatures lead to poor and late germination. As parsnip seed may take a few weeks to germinate the first flush of weed growth has a good headstart and, if not controlled, it may be impossible to see when the seed actually germinate. Believe me, there is nothing more tortuous than trying to separate a bed of just visible parsnips from very visible chickweed! I would recommend preparing a stale seed bed in advance of sowing the crop and making two weed strikes if possible. Here a flame weeder is very useful to burn off early growth without disturbing the bed but failing that hand weeding or shallow hoeing will do. If sowings are delayed into late March/early April when soil temperatures have warmed up to 7°C the chances of good germination are much better. While parsnip seed are quite large they are very flat and light. This makes them awkard to handle and difficult to sow in windy conditions so pelleted seed are a good alternative. The spacing will depend on the variety sown and should take into account the eventual size of the finished root. Seed should be sown three quarters of an inch deep with a space of twelve to fifteen inches between rows depending on the bed system used.
Apart from ensuring that the bed is well watered little care is required until the crop germinates. Good weed control is vital until the crop is well established and the top growth closes over to form a canopy.
Care must be taken to avoid mechanical damage to the roots as this will encourage canker to set in. Some hand weeding will be necessary close to the rows and plants can be earthed up as weeding takes place.
Pests and diseases are not a major problem with parsnips but canker can cause severe damage to roots particularly in wet years such as was instanced by last season. It appears as a brown or black patch of damage on the shoulder skin of the root and while the damage may be only superficial it looks unsightly and the root may be unsaleable. The entire root can eventually be rotted away by the action of soil bacteria and fungi. Lesions caused by carrot root fly, splitting of roots or mechanical damage will encourage the canker organism to attack so care should be taken with maintenance of the crop.
Harvesting of the crop starts in mid-autumn and the on-set of frost is said to sweeten the roots by increasing the sugar content. Parsnips are generally lifted as required as they do not store very well and dis-colour quickly. While they are quite frost resistant, harvesting can be difficult in frosty or very wet conditions. Roots are easily damaged mechanically or by hand lifting so care is needed with harvesting. The crop will store well in the ground until spring and should be covered with a layer of straw and black plastic to prevent sprouting.
Varieties
- Gladiator F1 - Long, tapering roots with smooth skin and some canker resistance.
- White Gem - Half long variety with smooth skin producing good quality roots.
- Avonresister - Small roots ideal for pre-packing, good canker resistance.
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