Parsnips...another of my favorite root vegetables

When I was a kid growing up my mother was a great gardener.  And I remember eating most all of those fresh vegetables.  One vegetable I especially loved to eat was "parsnips", not a vegetable that everyone likes.  Mom used to steam it a bit, then cut it up and throw it in the frying pan with butter.  My, my, what great flavor.



 I have started growing this root vegetable myself, starting last year.  I sometimes cook it like mom did but mainly I make a great "root soup" with carrots, rutabagas, turnips, and parsnips  with a little onion and garlic, vegetable broth.  Cook it till the vegetables are soft in the broth, then blend them and then add a little salt and a cup or so of cream or other milk like product.  Sometimes I use almond milk, rice milk or even sunflower milk if I am not wanting the heavy cream.  It is absolutely delicious if you like "root" vegetables.  I make a big pot of this soup and separate it into smaller portions and freeze the soup using my food saver.  The soup tastes as fresh as if it were made that day when you take it out of the freezer months later.

I love root vegetables and for some it is an "acquired" taste or "no taste" at all...in other words, "not for me".  That just means more root vegetables for me in our family.

Parsnips are relatives of the carrot, celery, cilantro, dill and parsley.  They develop long deep roots sometimes up to 48 inches and so the soil needs to be loosened at least twelve inches deep to encourage good root growth.  Best to remove all stones from your seed bed.   You can plant radishes next to the parsnips and they help keep the soil loosened.  When you plant the seeds in early May, don't expect to see any seedlings popping through the service of the soil for about 3-4 weeks as germination takes a long time.  You don't need overly fertile soil for parsnips as if they get too much nitrogen then you will get all of that "forking" of the roots that you sometimes see.

 

You can add compost to the soil in the fall where you will be planting the parsnips or a little in the spring.  But parsnips will not need extra fertilizer in general.  Keep the seedbed moist at all times until the seedlings can be seen coming through the soil then see that they get one inch of water a week.  When they get about 3 inches tall, thin them out to four inches apart by snipping the seedlings at the soil line that you are removing.  Use a small scissors rather than pulling them out.

IF you can keep the parsnips in the ground till after the first frost, you will have a much sweeter flavor in your parsnips.  Parsnips can also be planted in the fall and grown through the winter and harvested in the spring.

Parsnip seeds do not store well so it is best to buy new seeds each year.  Have fun growing.

References used:  Taunton's Complete Guide to Growing Vegetables & Herbs
                             Rodale's Find-It-Fast Answers for your Vegetable Garden
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