Success with Parsnip Seeds

They may look like anemic carrots when they’re grown, but parsnips are nothing like their orange look-alikes when they are nothing more than parsnip seeds! Sow carrot seeds and you’ll have an abundance of little tiny seedlings shoot up like a miniature forest in no time because carrot seeds germinate easily. The parsnip seed however is not so fortunate.

Parsnips have a more difficult time germinating and so therefore make sure that when you’re planting seeds, you plant several to each planting area as it’s possible that only one seed will germinate in each space. You may have to re-space the parsnips out once the seeds have germinated and shot their seedlings through the soil, and you can see which seeds survived, but at least you’ll have increased your odds of a good parsnip harvest! Check in your seed catalog, or gardening magazine for varieties of parsnips that are easier for germination.

Organic Fertilizer is Best for Parsnip Seed Planting

Soil which is well maintained and well fertilized will encourage your parsnip seeds to grow better, especially if organic fertilizer has been used.

Parsnips are not usually targeted by garden pests but caterpillars of the swallowtail butterfly are partial to them, so if they find your parsnip plants, remove the caterpillars by hand before they do any damage to your crop. A winter crop, you won’t usually harvest your parsnips until they’ve been exposed to a couple of weeks at near freezing temperatures. The starch will then start to turn to sugar giving a much sweeter taste to the parsnip.

If you didn’t use all of the seeds in the packet this year, throw the remainder away. Parsnips are one vegetable where the seeds do not live more than a year and so you’ll need to order a fresh supply from your seed catalog for next year.

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