Parsnips are a tasty root vegetable that's relatively easy to grow in your own backyard. The plants have similar needs to carrots, but their roots are white. With a few tricks, you can also successfully harvest parsnips yourself.

Look for fresh seeds

In contrast to many other seed varieties, parsnip seeds only remain viable for about a year under normal conditions. Therefore, before sowing parsnips, be sure to use fresh seeds. Seed bags from the retailer are usually printed with a date so that the freshness can be easily determined.

Sow directly in spring or only in summer

Parsnips can be grown for two different seasons of use. For example, the roots of parsnips sown in early spring can be harvested for fresh consumption as early as September. On the other hand, if you only sow in June, you can harvest the parsnips fresh from the bed all winter long as a winter vegetable.

Good soil preparation is half the battle

In order to enable the long parsnip roots to develop well, you should definitely loosen the soil before sowing. Parsnips grow on loamy and sandy soil as well as on moor soil, but it should be a humus-rich substrate. Manure fertilization should already have taken place in autumn, otherwise fresh manure attracts the dreaded carrot fly.

Good growth also needs space

Parsnips must not be too close together if their roots are to develop optimally. Although you can sow the seeds in rows about 30-50 cm apart, you should later thin out the plant population to one plant every 5-10 cm. This is possible after about 3 weeks at the earliest, since parsnip seeds usually take that long to germinate.

Careful care results in a rich harvest

In principle, parsnips do not require any special care during their long cultivation period of around 160 to 200 days. However, the soil should always be kept as moist as possible and weeds should be removed from time to time so that the parsnips are not overgrown. Since the parsnip leaves can cause skin irritation when touched, you should wear gloves when doing this.

tips and tricks

Instructions on how to cultivate parsnips can also often be found in old horticultural books. However, it is often referred to there by common names such as "moor root" or "mutton carrot".

Category:

Vegetable garden