High Praise for the Humble Parsnip

The other day I was shopping at H-EB and noticed they had some parsnips. I roasted some that night alongside a cut of beef. Now I need to order some seeds and plant some in the garden.

I grew parsnips once many years ago, and I recall loving it. But for some reason, I kind of forgot about it and haven’t grown it since.

You rarely find parsnips for sale outside of the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. This humble vegetable never gets enough attention. Maybe that’s because they look kind of bland. They resemble white carrots. But what they lack in looks, they make up for in flavor.

Parsnips have a wonderfully earthy sweetness – sort of like carrots but different. It’s hard to describe their taste. After I roasted them, my wife Janessa asked if I seasoned them with cinnamon. Of course, I had not. But I suppose their flavor hints at notes of cinnamon.

I’ve grown them only once before. It’s been several years, but I recall a successful harvest. They prefer similar conditions to carrots – deep, loose soil free of rocks. Like carrots, their roots will become misshapen or split if they encounter rocks in the soil. They prefer a long, cool growing season.

Most sources say they need 100 to 105 days from germination to harvest. The Old Farmers Almanac recommends planting in the spring and harvesting in the fall. That probably works in northern parts of the country. But here in Texas, I bet our summers will be too hot for them.

If I recall correctly, the one time I grew them, I planted in the fall and harvested in the winter.

If planted now, they’ll probably be ready to harvest in April. Many sources say the seeds will germinate in temperatures as low as 49 degrees F. Once they get up and growing, frosts shouldn’t be too much of an issue. In fact, lots of growers say they taste better when exposed to a few frosts. From what I’ve read, they’ll need some protection if it gets colder than 28 degrees F.

I’m going to try and plant some in the next week or so. It might be a gamble. But I’ll definitely have to remember to plant some next fall. I hope you do, too.