Post by macmex on Jan 2, 2014 7:53:44 GMT -6
Parsnips are one of those “neglected crops,” in today's modern society. They probably merit the tag even more than rutabagas. Both these crops were once enjoyed great prominence and have fallen out of popularity.
The parsnip looks like a large white carrot, though it is not at all related to the carrot. In my boyhood, out East, I remember digging some parsnips which probably weighed in at nearly 2 lb. And they were still tender and tasty! Back during the time when Roman legions were conquering places like the British Isles and Germany, parsnips were their staple starch, filling the place which most cultures now fill with rice or potatoes.
Though it's true that the parsnip has starch in it, I have never thought, “Well, we need a starch to go with this meal. Let's fix parsnips!” Rather, for us, they fill the need for a vegetable. I love boiled or roasted parsnips, served with a dab of butter and salt. Parsnips also lend a wonderful, delicate flavor to a soup or stew.
Another advantage to the parsnip is that it lets one garden when there's very little else to do out there! I planted this year's parsnip patch on January 1. Here in Oklahoma, one can generally plant them anytime after Thanksgiving and until the beginning of February. They germinate slowly. But they do love the prolonged damp, cool/cold temps of this segment of the year. Once they germinate (usually the middle of February) they grow pretty rapidly, looking beautiful around May. They will continue to grow as long as conditions are not too hot and dry. Which, in my garden means, they stop by the middle of June. I just forget about them. They sit there until after the first freeze in fall. Then, when there is little else to harvest, I can dig parsnips all winter (conditions permitting)! For our family, this is huge. We try to eat primarily from what we grow. The winter is sometimes tough. Parsnips usually come through for us.
Parsnip seed is pretty pricey these days. A packet of seed can often run over $3. It's worth it! Thank God for seed companies who still sell these seeds! If you grow parsnips, and if you really like them, you'll probably want more than what a regular packet will sow. So, save your own seed ! It's fairly easy to do.
First of all, one needs to plant some parsnips. Let them grow. Wait for the harvest. Then, at harvest time, when encountering a particularly good root, don't eat it. Plant it where it can grow and flower in the spring. I recommend a minimum of six or seven roots. Remember, each plant can get about 6' tall and several feet across. One plant will probably produce more than enough seed for your next year's crop. But you want to maintain the genetic depth of your seed stock. So, save seed from each plant and mix it up before you plant again.
I like to plant my seed producing parsnips along the garden fence. There is an advantage, also, to letting them flower. Parsnip flowers produce nectar for honey bees and other pollinators. They are very much appreciated by these beneficials.
Here in Oklahoma we have a great advantage in producing pure seed. There are no wild parsnips, unlike a number of other regions in the United States. Since they are insect pollinated, one would like a mile (ideal) isolation from other parsnips. I'd settle for a quarter mile, since I know that bees are crop specific, zeroing in on what's abundant at the time, and focusing on that. So, even if I have a neighbor at ½ mile from me, who grows a dozen parsnips for seed, I seriously doubt my bees will bother to go that far, and, at the same time, swing by my parsnip plants on their return journey.
Anyway, would you like a winter garden project? Could you use a vegetable which can be harvested in the winter? Try parsnips!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsnip
The parsnip looks like a large white carrot, though it is not at all related to the carrot. In my boyhood, out East, I remember digging some parsnips which probably weighed in at nearly 2 lb. And they were still tender and tasty! Back during the time when Roman legions were conquering places like the British Isles and Germany, parsnips were their staple starch, filling the place which most cultures now fill with rice or potatoes.
Though it's true that the parsnip has starch in it, I have never thought, “Well, we need a starch to go with this meal. Let's fix parsnips!” Rather, for us, they fill the need for a vegetable. I love boiled or roasted parsnips, served with a dab of butter and salt. Parsnips also lend a wonderful, delicate flavor to a soup or stew.
Another advantage to the parsnip is that it lets one garden when there's very little else to do out there! I planted this year's parsnip patch on January 1. Here in Oklahoma, one can generally plant them anytime after Thanksgiving and until the beginning of February. They germinate slowly. But they do love the prolonged damp, cool/cold temps of this segment of the year. Once they germinate (usually the middle of February) they grow pretty rapidly, looking beautiful around May. They will continue to grow as long as conditions are not too hot and dry. Which, in my garden means, they stop by the middle of June. I just forget about them. They sit there until after the first freeze in fall. Then, when there is little else to harvest, I can dig parsnips all winter (conditions permitting)! For our family, this is huge. We try to eat primarily from what we grow. The winter is sometimes tough. Parsnips usually come through for us.
Parsnip seed is pretty pricey these days. A packet of seed can often run over $3. It's worth it! Thank God for seed companies who still sell these seeds! If you grow parsnips, and if you really like them, you'll probably want more than what a regular packet will sow. So, save your own seed ! It's fairly easy to do.
First of all, one needs to plant some parsnips. Let them grow. Wait for the harvest. Then, at harvest time, when encountering a particularly good root, don't eat it. Plant it where it can grow and flower in the spring. I recommend a minimum of six or seven roots. Remember, each plant can get about 6' tall and several feet across. One plant will probably produce more than enough seed for your next year's crop. But you want to maintain the genetic depth of your seed stock. So, save seed from each plant and mix it up before you plant again.
I like to plant my seed producing parsnips along the garden fence. There is an advantage, also, to letting them flower. Parsnip flowers produce nectar for honey bees and other pollinators. They are very much appreciated by these beneficials.
Here in Oklahoma we have a great advantage in producing pure seed. There are no wild parsnips, unlike a number of other regions in the United States. Since they are insect pollinated, one would like a mile (ideal) isolation from other parsnips. I'd settle for a quarter mile, since I know that bees are crop specific, zeroing in on what's abundant at the time, and focusing on that. So, even if I have a neighbor at ½ mile from me, who grows a dozen parsnips for seed, I seriously doubt my bees will bother to go that far, and, at the same time, swing by my parsnip plants on their return journey.
Anyway, would you like a winter garden project? Could you use a vegetable which can be harvested in the winter? Try parsnips!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsnip