The old saying ‘fine words butter no parsnips’, used to mean fancy speech and flattery will achieve nothing, is said to derive from the habit of smothering parsnips and other vegetables with butter to try to make them more appetising. Perhaps when this proverb was coined in the seventeenth century dietary tastes, or the types of parsnips available, were different from today. But the lingering implication that parsnips are unpalatable unless smeared with butter, is an unwarranted slur. The parsnip is a fine vegetable. Eaten fresh and, most importantly at the appropriate season, it needs no garnishing.
The appropriate season, of course, is winter. Parsnips reach perfection as the weather cools. Gardening lore holds, and there’s some scientific evidence to back this up, that frost and cold enhances taste, ‘sweetening’ the roots. Dug too early, before a nip of winter frost, parsnips lack full on flavour, that distinct blend of earthiness and sweetness unique to this vegetable. It’s a flavour best savoured freshly dug. Out of the ground parsnips soon shrivel and become woody in texture. Unlike some root crops, for example carrots, which can be damaged by hard frost, parsnips have the benefit of being almost totally hardy. There’s no need to harvest and store. Apart from Jerusalem artichokes there are no other commonly cultivated root vegetables that can be got fresh from the plot even in the harshest winter weather. Several times I’ve prised parsnips out of ground frozen like concrete with a chisel and hammer. Once thawed out they made perfect eating.
A bed of parsnips, foliage largely died back, in December
A domesticated form of the wild parsnip, parsnips have been cultivated in the UK for centuries. Scientifically Pastinaca sativa the parsnip is a member of the Apiaceae family, closely related to carrots and similar wild plants such as cow parsley. Although cultivated as an annual, parsnips are biennials. If not harvested in winter the undug roots will throw up a flower head and set seed in spring.
Growing parsnips requires patience. In comparison with some other root crops like carrots growth is slow. Five to six months, is needed if roots are to reach a good size. It takes time to get a crop started. Parsnips are one of the few vegetables where the hassle of beginning with seed cannot be avoided by transplanting. Although seedlings are now sometimes offered as plugs or in root trainers by garden centres and online, it’s delusional to expect a worthwhile crop this way. Parsnips have a long tap root. Raised in plugs or pots this will be restricted. When planted out the roots may also be damaged or broken. The result is likely to be stumpy and gnarled roots rather than tapered, smooth and long. ‘Direct sowing’, that is sowing seed straight into soil, with all the hassle this can entail, is therefore essential
Because parsnips need a long season of growth it is often suggested sowing should be early, sometimes as soon as the beginning of March. Unless you grow on very well drained soil that warms quickly after winter ignore this rash advice. For optimal germination parsnips need a soil temperature of 10-12 degrees Celsius. This is unlikely to be reached in much of the UK before the end of March. Here in Yorkshire, I usually hold off sowing until the middle of April. If ground conditions are wet waiting even longer does no harm. Parsnips seed is flimsy and easily rots in soggy soil. I’ve sometimes sown as late as mid-May and still had worthwhile sized roots at harvest.
Even when soil and weather are favourable parsnips can be reluctant and slow to germinate. Seedlings can take aeons to appear. Exactly how long will depend on conditions but four weeks is not unusual. Emergence can also be erratic, plants appearing over a gradually rather than in a flurry over a few days. Germination will also be impaired if seed is old. Parsnip seed doesn’t keep well so I never retain unsown seed for next season.
Parsnips need deep friable soil to grow quality roots. On my medium heavy ground, I dig lightly to reduce compaction and work the soil into a fine ‘tilth’ (free from clods) with a soil miller (hand pulled rotating cultivator) just before sowing. Seed is sown into shallow grooves or ‘drills’ made with the corner of a rake. Where more than one line is to be sown these are set 40cm apart. Because parsnips germinate sporadically it’s often recommended to ‘station’ sow, that is place several seeds in a cluster about five to seven centimetres apart. I don’t follow this advice, reasoning that if the soil is too wet or otherwise unfavourable at any spot all the clustered seed will fail. Instead, I sow at several centimetre intervals along the drill. Seed is carefully covered and the soil lightly tamped down with the head of the rake. This helps avoid air pockets and retain moisture.To improve the chances of success I usually sow two or three batches at weekly or so intervals. This way there’s a chance at least one sowing will coincide with weather conditions conducive to good germination.
Smaller than usual parsnips due to summer drought
Another tactic sometimes recommended is to germinate parsnips inside on damp tissue. The snag though, is how to get the germinated seeds, with their delicate root shoots, into the ground without damage. Placing individual seeds into soil with tweezers is one of the suggestions seen online. Fine if you want a handful of roots, not so handy if you want several hundred. Suffice to say this is not a solution I’ve been tempted to try.
Once the germination hurdle is overcome parsnips usually grow without much attention. Other than weeding once or twice when the plants are still small, the only other essential task, assuming germination has been satisfactory, is thinning the plants to prevent overcrowding. I usually do this twice, once when the seedlings are still quite small and again in summer when the plants are more robust. For ‘normal’ sized roots a final distance 10-15cm apart is ideal.
Pest and disease problems are relatively minor. Carrot fly larvae can attack the roots but the mining is usually far less damaging than on carrots. The main disease issue is the fungus canker, a rusty brown marking, usually confined largely to the skin of the roots. Mainly cosmetic and peelable, blemishes can sometimes be more extensive and reach into the flesh. Canker is worse in wet seasons or where growing roots have been damaged, such as by carrot fly. To minimise problems, I now only grow canker resistant varieties, usually the well-tried Gladiator.
Parsnip showing minor canker damage (rust coloured blemishes)
This year’s parsnip crop hasn’t been the best. Roots are slightly smaller than usual, probably due to the dry summer. A plus though, has been barely a trace of canker. I don’t usually water parsnips, assuming the deep roots will be able to draw adequate moisture from deep in the soil. While usually a reasonable assumption, with spring so dry it is likely the plants were affected by drought before deep rooting occurred. Worth remembering if next spring is equally parched.
There are still enough parsnips, plenty for us and the gate cart and boxes. Anyway, smaller roots usually sell better than large. Fickler customers seem perturbed by large roots, bigger than those usually seen on supermarket shelves. We’re less than halfway through the crop as I write in early December. Digging will continue until at least mid-February, perhaps later if the weather is cold. Beyond this, the core of the roots begins to harden making them chewy. Any remaining roots get ‘souped’ by early March. It means a relatively short season, four months at best. But, as with some many vegetables, it’s seasonality that makes parsnips special. Enjoyed when sweetened by frost and fresh dug they are one of the plot’s finest winter treats.
