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PLANT TYPE: Annual SCIENTIFIC NAME: Pastinaca sativa LIGHT: Full Sun SOIL TYPE: Rich, well-drained, with organic matter pH RANGE: 6.5 MOISTURE/WATERING: Keep moist, not waterlogged MATURITY IN DAYS: Up to 150 Days KNOWN PESTS: Root maggot KNOWN DISEASES: N/A |
OVERVIEW:
Parsnips have a sweet nutty flavour. Fresh parsnip will have a soft texture when cooked, but an old parsnip will be fibrous and bitter. The whiter parsnips tend to be the most tender, and should be firm like carrots.
Parsnips are a good source of fiber, folate, magnesium, potassium, Vitamins C and E, calcium, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and B6. Parsnips colour is a clue to the fact that it does not contain any beta carotene. Parsnip can be also be cooked like carrots, but overcooking can turn them to mush.
PROPAGATION / SOWING:
Parsnip seed does not keep well from year to year; use only fresh seed. Sow parsnip as early as ground can be worked. Sow seed ½” deep in rows 18-24” apart. Thin to 3 inches apart. Adequate moisture and a cool soil temperature of 15-18°C (60-65°F) is essential for good germination with parsnip, which may take up to 21 days.
COMPANION PLANTING:
Parsnip do well with Bush bean, garlic, onion, pea, pepper, potato, radish.
CARE & GROWING:
Parsnip enjoy full sun with a soil pH of 6.5. Requires a rich, deeply cultivated soil with plenty of organic matter, incorporate compost or well rotted manure prior to planting.
HARVESTING:
Harvest parsnips any time once roots are adequately sized. Parsnips are tender and flavourful in the fall. A few light frosts will improve the flavour. Parsnips may also be mulched and left in ground over winter and dug as the ground thaws.