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Parsnips

kierabradley1998kierabradley1998 Posts: 2
in Problem solving
I had some parsnips that I planted late summer last year and over - wintered however this summer their plants have grown really tall (1m+) and started to seed at the top but there is barley any root underneath! Is there anything I can do to encourage root growth or is it because they’ve been out over winter? 

Posts

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    They have finished with their roots and are now growing flowers and making seeds. Then they die.
    You normally sow parsnips late spring, when the ground is warming up, must be fresh seeds, then you start digging them up to eat after the first frost, late autumn. You dig them and eat them all through winter then when they start growing upwards in spring you dig them up and put them in the compost bin.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    They are biennial - the root forms in year one, flowers & seeds form in year 2.  They need sowing in spring and harvesting before March the following year.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    We gave up parsnips some years ago.
    Love them as a veg but our garden doesn't.
    Germination rubbish for so many years.
    A real pity as we love them
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