The Best Time to Plant Parsnips

Root Vegetable

• Parsnips are root vegetables that grow well with other root vegetables like turnips, radishes, carrots and beets. These hardy plants thrive in cool temperatures, allowing you to plant them earlier than most of your garden vegetables. According to the Colorado State University Extension, parsnips are the only root vegetables that can stay in the ground through the winter, improving their quality.

Soil Requirements

• Root vegetables have certain soil requirements to be successful in your garden. Well-draining and loose, alkaline soils are best, with a pH level of 6.0 to 6.5. You can add lime to the soil if it is too acidic. The soil needs nitrogen, which you can add to the existing soil before planting and again during side dressing later in the season. Parsnips grow at a slow rate early on and are susceptible to weeds. Weed killers will also kill your vegetables. You can keep control of the weeds by removing them manually with a hoe. Use care during this process, as the roots of the parsnips grow very near the top of the soil in the early growing phase.

Planting and Thinning

• You can plant parsnips in the same row as your radishes with no worries. While radishes have a much shorter growing period, harvesting them does not affect the growing parsnips, which take much longer to develop. Plant parsnips in early spring after the threat of frost is over, the University of Minnesota recommends planting parsnips in the beginning of May. Once the plants begin to grow, you need to thin them so there is a 2-inch space between plants. Parsnips need an inch of water each week from rainfall or manual watering. Soaking the soil well facilitates proper root growth.

Harvesting

• Late fall, after an early frost, is harvest time for your parsnips plants. These root vegetables need to stay in the ground until this time to develop fully. The roots for these plants can grow up to 12 inches. The University of Minnesota Extension suggests you use care when harvesting parsnips and to use a spading fork to protect the long roots.