Parsnips?

Has anyone grown parsnips in a home garden? Experiences to report? I'm considering them for next year since they are a favourite vegetable of mine, and would like to try them, but I've heard they involve a lot of work. Any thoughts/experiences/words of advice are appreciated! I'm thinking of growing them in a raised bed.

Parsnips are one of the few vegetables that I don't like, but they are relatively easy to grow. They do better in the north than in the deep south. Culture is about the same as for carrots, except that parsnips need cool weather to form good roots. Typically they are planted in the spring/summer and dug in the winter.
http://greennature.com/article2063.html
http://www.territorial-seed.com/stores/1/Parsnips_Culture_Information__W57C28.cfm
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/specialty/parsnip.html

We're not too far from you and we have a nice looking row of parsnips growing. We had never grown them either but had such good luck with carrots last year we decided to give them a try. We do have a light sandy soil here which you don't see that often in central Iowa which I'm sure helps the root crops. We won't harvest until after a frost but I'm hoping for a good crop. They weren't a lot of work. They did require some extensive hand weeding as it took a long time for them to get big enough to hoe. I'll let you know about the taste and size after harvest.

Nancy

My mom in ND grows parsnips. They grow very well for her.

I hated them as a kid. Fortunately, I was forced to try them each time she made them. By the time I was a teenager I grew to like them. She pan fried them in butter in a cast iron pan. They have a really sweet flavor. She used to do the same thing with oversize carrots. Tasty!

I grow parsnips every year, beginning in early Spring. They take forever to germinate, so patience is a virtue with them. They're not much bother to grow, just the usual weeding and moderate watering. I begin harvesting after the first frost here, because the roots turn sweeter then. After that, I leave them in the ground all Winter long under 8 to 10 inches of shredded leaves/straw mulch and harvest as needed. I finish digging what is left the following Spring and then plant another crop.

I grew them 2 years ago, and they were great, even the ones I waited until March to harvest! I think Territorial has good culture information on them. They do need a pretty deep bed, as I recall.... I put them in the row that DH double dug one year to a depth of nearly two feet (he was overly ambitious.... hasn't done any digging in the garden since, I don't think, LOL).

Thanks to all for the help! This is quite positive. I'm glad so many people grow parsnips without too much trouble. Sounds like I need patience and a nicely prepared bed, and that's about all.

Nannybee - do you remember when you planted? We're likely in the same zone so it would give me a good idea.

Critterologist - they didn't grow 2 feet long though...did they? My raised beds are 16 inches deep of a mix of compost, humus, and clay, then with heavier clay under the 16 inches (the reason I made the raised beds in the first place!). I was hoping that would be enough.

Lettuceman - I can definitely do the straw/mulch thing in early winter, but once it snows and crusts over and gets nasty, I don't want to dig through 2 feet of snow and ice just to get a parsnip. Can I harvest them after the heavy frosts but before the heavy snows and keep them in a cool place (like the garage or basement?).

I think the culture info I read said 18 inch cultivated depth, but I would think your 16 inch raised beds would be quite fine! I will have to dig out my very cool recipe for making egg-less (read, low fat) lemon curd from parsnips -- yes, parsnips! Like making "raspberry" jam from green tomatoes, the parsnip lemon curd isn't quite like the best quality lemon curd, but it is remarkably good, and nobody will guess the main ingredient. Nobody. :-)

Awesome! That would be great. I love lemon curd. And I use it sometimes in baking, like in making layered bars and stuff, so I'm sure it would work for that too.

CMOXSON- Yes, you can harvest them after the heavy frost and store them elsewhere. Just have to keep them cool without freezing them. If you didn't have a crust of ice to contend with, the snow acts as a terrific insulator...my parsnips are quite happy under the snow here in zone 6a.

Make sure you use fresh seed, as the germination is usually very poor if the seed is more than a year old. I decided to risk it and use up last year's packet and have only got three parsnips this year. So much for being economical!

We planted ours the end of April. We tilled with a large tractor and I don't know what depth we went but I would guess about a foot a the most. I've been harvesting carrots in the next row that are a good 8 to 9 inches long and look real good so I have high hopes for the parsnips.

Nancy

Jef, I have to ask. Where in ND is your Mom? I'm assuming Eastern and I'm the western part. I am just hoping maybe she's close to me? I'd love to meet her.

I've tried several times to grow parsnips and never had a good germination. From what I can tell, they need a LONG germination period, so maybe when the weeds started taking over they got weeded out? I can grow great carrots though.

I love parsnips peeled, sliced the long way, rolled in egg and then crushed saltines and fried in butter. Yum! I make sure I get my share every year, but so far I have had to *gasp* BUY them in the grocery store after they've been dipped in wax.

C Mox; Careful on digging and storing those parsnips. I have no experience storing them and everyone I ever knew who grew them, covered them in the ground and dug them when needed. I do know that they shrivel badly when left lying around exposed to the air. That is why market growers cover them with a heavy coat of wax. I have stored Lutz beets for winter by placing them in a container of damp sand. That may work for parsnips, but I have not tried it.