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| I have just dug some parsnips for Thanksgiving dinner and I'm disappointed with them. Woody Centres, fibrous and tough. I have grown them in previous years successfully. Lots of compost amendments and fertilizer, well watered, but something is missing. Good looking top growth, but one plant ran to seed! In the first year? Anyone with any ideas? Could it be the seed? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by theforgottenone1013 5b/6a MI (My Page) on Mon, Oct 13, 14 at 13:24
| I wonder if perhaps the soil was too fertile for them. Rodney |
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| That's what I was wondering too. Also, my experience with parsnips is that they are way better if left in the ground through lots of hard freezing -- the cold seems to help them develop their sugars. And harvest and eat within one day keeps flavor the best. Though neither of these practices will help with the woody centers. |
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| yes, never fertilize parsnips. same for carrots or beans. Though I am perplexed by the parsnips being fibrous. They should just be small. |
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| Wait a minute, never fertilize parsnips? I think that really depends on the fertility of the soil doesn't it? I grow lots of parsnips and prep the bed with lots and lots of composted manure and they turn out wonderful. I don't think that bolting and woody parsnips can be blamed on too much fertility, that sounds like stress to me. I'd check your soil ph and maybe see if something is out of balance. -Mark |
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| Possibly. Surely our li'l gardens are overcomposted. Mine is above optimal in Ca, K, Mg and P and usually only needs some urea. Which I give to other beds, but not to the above three. |
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| I think maybe you planted them quite early and the parsnips became over-mature. The planting I made in May was ready about a month ago -- they are huge and delicious. I planted more in July and they are about half grown now, will probably stay in the ground through winter. Next year I will push the main crop planting date back even more, to early June, to see if that's better. I'd like for the soil to be cold when I dig them. I presprout the seeds in damp paper towels and get good stands of seedlings. |
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- Posted by beeman_gardener 5 (My Page) on Wed, Oct 15, 14 at 10:40
| "planatus" Interesting. So you must then transplant the germinated parsnip seeds? Care to advise your methods? Will certainly plant later next year as early germination can be hit and miss. |
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| I put the dry seeds between damp paper towels, then fold and put it in a plastic container with a snap top lid. At room temp the seeds start showing white "tails" after 6 to 7 days. As soon as these emerging roots show, I gently plant the seeds. This procedure has greatly improved parsnip emergence for me. |
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- Posted by beeman_gardener 5 (My Page) on Thu, Oct 16, 14 at 10:47
| "planatus" I understand and use the paper germination. I think I should try to be more precise with my questions! Do you plant the germinated seed straight in the garden, or do you plant in say 'pots' until large enough to plant outside? I was taught you cannot transplant both carrots or parsnips. Mind, I was told the same thing about beets, but this year I transplanted some and it worked fine. |
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| I have seen English gardeners planting parsnips in cardboard tubes (toilet tissue or paper towel tubes) and transplanting those to the garden. Seems like it should work because the tube would protect the taproot from disturbance during transplanting. I plant the germinating seeds in a prepared bed over which I am likely to place a cloth shade cover for a few days. Sometimes I also place strips of wet newspaper between the rows to prevent weeds for the first few weeks. Even with pre-germinating the seeds, it takes a few weeks for the stand to establish well. Many say you can't transplant rutabagas, but that's not true, either. |
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- Posted by beeman_gardener 5 (My Page) on Sat, Oct 18, 14 at 9:05
| "planatus" OK, sounds good. Next year I'll try your methods using my soil blocker. It worked for Beets this year so will try parsnips next. Thanks for the information. |
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