RHS Growing Guides
How to grow parsnips
Our detailed growing guide will help you with each step in successfully growing Parsnips.
Getting Started
Sow parsnips outdoors in spring and you’ll be enjoying tasty roots throughout winter
Month by Month
Jobs to do now
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sow | ||||||||||||
| Harvest |
Choosing
Shorter varieties of parsnip are better for shallow, stony or heavy soil
What and where to buy
Parsnip seeds are widely available in garden centres and from online suppliers. Only buy enough for the current year though, as old seeds germinate poorly, so to avoid disappointment it’s best to buy fresh ones every spring.
Recommended Varieties
Evenly tapered root about 30cm (1ft) long with smooth white skin, slow to discolour. Resistant to canker.
Produces good harvests of well-flavoured, long, slender roots with smooth skins. Resistant to canker.
Very uniform, long, slender roots with a smooth white skin. Keeps well over winter in the ground.
Preparing the Ground
Choose an open, sunny area with deep, light soil that drains readily. Avoid sowing in ground recently used for parsnips or carrots, as carrot fly may be present. And if you’re growing carrots too, keep the two crops away from each other.
Prepare the soil by removing as many stones as possible and loosen heavy clay or compacted soil, so your parsnips grow long, straight roots that don’t fork. Don’t dig in any organic matter immediately before sowing, as this can also cause roots to branch and fork. Soil that has been improved with well-rotted manure or garden compost the previous year is ideal. If you’re practising no-dig, mulch the surface and sow into the mulch.
Sowing
Parsnips have a reputation for being tricky to germinate, but if you wait until the soil has warmed up in mid-spring, use fresh seeds and sow plenty, you should have good results. Sowing indoors is not recommended, as parsnips form a tap root that doesn’t transplant well. Although you may find recommendations to start sowing in February, it’s usually too cold for reliable germination, except in very mild locations – wait until temperatures are around 12°C (54°F). Sowings made in March and April, and even early May, tend to do much better. Covering the soil with cloches for a couple of weeks before sowing also helps to dry it out and warm it.
Make a shallow drill, 1cm (½in) deep, and water along the base if the soil is dry. Scatter the seeds thinly along the drill, or sow three at 15cm (6in) intervals – germination can be unreliable, so it’s best to sow more than you need. Cover the seeds with soil and water again if no rain is forecast. Space additional rows 30cm (1ft) apart. For more sowing tips, see our guides below.
Plant Care
Watering
Mulching
Spread a thick layer of mulch, such as home-made garden compost, around parsnips when the soil is warm and damp, to hold in moisture and suppress weeds.
Weeding
Keep the soil weed-free, especially when parsnips are young, so they don’t have to compete for water, nutrients or light. Hand-weeding, rather than hoeing, avoids accidentally damaging the top of the root and making it susceptible to canker (see Problems, below). Also try not to touch the leaves when weeding, as the smell may attract carrot fly. Once the crop is growing strongly, the dense foliage usually hinders weed growth.
Protecting the crop
Parsnips are vulnerable to carrot fly damage, so it’s best to put protection in place from the start – the most effective method is to cover the crop with insect-proof mesh.
Harvesting
Lift parsnips using a fork, to ensure you get the whole root out of the ground
Use a garden fork to carefully ease the long roots out of the ground intact. Parsnip roots are very hardy, so can be left in the ground into winter and harvested as required. However, they can be difficult to harvest from frozen ground, so it may be worth lifting a few extra in November to ensure you have parsnips to enjoy however cold it gets. Alternatively, cover the ground with straw as insulation.
Problems
Seed germination can be poor and slow, especially in cold soil, so don’t sow too early. Always use fresh seeds and protect early sowings with cloches to keep them warm and aid germination. Other potential problems include forked or distorted roots, usually due to stony or compacted soil, or if manure or garden compost have been added recently. Parsnip roots can split if growth is erratic, so water in dry spells to avoid this. They can also be damaged by carrot fly, so cover the crop with insect-proof mesh. Parsnip canker (an orange/brown rot) can affect the roots too, especially if already damaged. Resistant varieties (such as ‘Albion’ and ‘Picador’) are available.
Get involved
The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.