Parsnips are incredibly low maintenance and easy to grow, they are kind of similar to Carrots in their needs yet they are an awful lot less work and the ground does not have to be as finely prepared for them. They can be sown directly outside now until the end of April ideally so the time to do it is now. Below I will give you the lowdown on how to get the perfect Parsnip harvest.
Location and Soil.
They enjoy the sun quite a bit so try and place them somewhere that isn't completely shaded.
Parsnips though less fussy than Carrots do like a rich soil, so once you have decided on a plot dig in a bit of manure to improve the soil around a week before sowing. Westland Chicken Manure Pellets or Gro-Sure Farmyard Manure are both perfect for this or if you have access to it, horse manure is great. I recently got given a load of Alpaca manure which is fabulous stuff as unlike a lot of other manures it's PH means that it's less likely to burn the more tender seedlings and plants so if you can get it do!
Parsnips will grow in even claggy clay soil but they will do a lot better if the soil is well dug. The main thing is that it is deep enough, you should prepare it down as far as around 30cm and take out any obvious stones and rocks to prevent forking.
Sowing.
Place the seeds directly into your prepared soil around 1 to 2 cm deep individually. If you are worried that some may not germinate you can plant them in 3 seeds at a time and then come back and thin out any that have over germinated.. They should be spaced out from each other at around 15cm apart and if you are doing rows of them the rows themselves should be 20-30cm apart approx.
Maintenance.
Parsnips are fairly self sufficient and will need very little other than some weeding and some watering during very dry spells, other than that they will be perfectly fine.
Pests.
Carrot Fly unfortunately is a big issue for Parsnips. If you have already had Carrot Fly on last year's crops it's best to avoid planting Parsnips on the same ground this year as their larvae will overwinter in the soil near the previous crop.
You can make your own Carrot Fly spray with Neem Oil (Neem oil is from the Neem Tree and can be used as a natural insecticide for numerous pests). You just need to put 2 tsp of Neem Oil in a spray bottle with half a tsp of washing up liquid and around 2 litres of warm water. Mix it together and spray liberally on the affected plants.
Fungus can also be an issue causing things such as canker and rust spot but a quick spray with something such as Vitax Organic Rose Guard 750ml should sort any problem.
Your Parsnips once established should take around 5 months to grow, the first ones being ready for harvesting by Autumn, they will happily stay in the ground through winter and actually get sweeter the longer they are allowed to mature. Be sure to pull the last of them by late January as they will start to lose their texture.
Happy Planting!
