parsnips make lots of leaves

[Berti]

this summer I have sown parsnips first time, somewhere end june/ begin july.
they are doing well.
and that is an understatement.
they make LOTS of leaves and keep continuing making leaves......

is this normal for parsnips? or is this a sign they lack something? the leaves take up a lot of space, make the place crowded.
as far as I know I have them spaced properly apart (15 cm each way)

thanks
berti

[Mrs Moustoir]

This year is the first time I've grown parsnips too and mine are also really leafy. I sowed mine in February/March and I'm hoping that something is going on underground and that I won't be disappointed by the actual parsnip sizes.

I think they are usually quite large plants as I remember reading somewhere that they take up a lot of room on the veg plot for a long time. When the frost comes, the leaves die right back.

They are like carrots and don't do well in very fertile soil ie freshly manured. Mine are in a raised bed and are currently being munched by a couple of very large swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. They are reducing the amount of leaves quite quickly!

[Rosendula]

Parsnips do make lots of leaves. As other things die off, it's quite pleasant to see the parsnips still looking healthy.

I sowed mine back in February and March and lifted my first few a couple of days ago. They were about the size that you would buy in shops, maybe a bit bigger and a bit wonkier. They were lovely. However, people generally agree that parsnips taste better after they have been subject to a frost, so don't pull them all up yet. Also, because they can withstand frosts, you don't need to lift them for storing, just dig up a few as and when you need them. That said, it's a good idea to pull a few up to keep in the freezer or somewhere just in case the ground becomes too frozen to dig them up.

[Millymollymandy]

Mine are in a raised bed and are currently being munched by a couple of very large swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. They are reducing the amount of leaves quite quickly!

That's interesting! Are they at all related to dill or fennel? I always have tons of self seeded dill all over my garden (veggie patch and flower beds) and they are usually covered in swallowtail caterpillars. That's partly why I grow so many of them. We need to look after butterflies like that.

Edit - sorry I'm being thick. I'd had them eating carrot greens before as well. I guess they are all umbillifers and they're not choosy.

[grahamhobbs]

That's interesting! Are they at all related to dill or fennel? I always have tons of self seeded dill all over my garden (veggie patch and flower beds) and they are usually covered in swallowtail caterpillars. That's partly why I grow so many of them. We need to look after butterflies like that.

Have you ever left a parsnip to self seed? They come up everywhere! So why does everyone have such a job getting parsnip seed to germinate!!!

Actually this has been a very good year for us, they germinated well, the slugs didn't get the seedlings and have looked healthy all the time with lots of big green leaves, despite attack by celery leaf miners, and we ate our 1st parsnip on Sunday. The first one we pulled would have won a competition, big straight and beautiful! Usually I grow Tender and True, but this year I tried The Student. Although it was cooked beatifully, blanched, then roasted in olive oil, I thought the taste was rather mild, perhaps it is the variety or maybe they will get more bite later in the year, we'll see.

Anyone got their favorite variety?

[Millymollymandy]

Gladiator - they are HUGE! Tried Countess but they're only half the size.

[Mrs Moustoir]

I'd imagine they are all the same family MMM - fatty caterpillar has relocated to some carrots now.

Perhaps he fancied a change!

edit: sorry - a bit off-topic. But he is eating parsnip leaves as well... :)

[Millymollymandy]

Try growing some dill, Susie! I love them and love watching them grow - they do get rather big!

[Peggy Sue]

This self seeding thing I find interesting, stuff thats really hard to germinate, when it self seeds is like wild fire. Parsnips, Orach, Dill (if only I could get one lot of Dill going and make it self seed grrr)

Things I've learnt about parsnips lately-
1.germination rates are worse if you sew in Feb than of you sew March/April
2. Seld seeded/ seed saved germiate by far the best
3. Horses love the leaves
4. You rarely get frost in East Anglia til Feb, if ever so don't wait to eat them
5. They are one of the truely native plants of the UK
6. Always thin them...otherwise you just can't separate the tangle

[Millymollymandy]

Peggy Sue - try chucking some dill seeds around willy nilly. Don't sow them properly. Every time I dead head them (the ones in my flower beds) I chuck some seeds around and for sure they will come up next year (if not now!). In my veg patch they come up everywhere including the paths and I pull them up if they are in the way or leave them if not. Coriander does exactly the same thing! I also do the same with love in a mist (in flower beds) but the blooming things are coming up now yet I wanted to dig some compost in there first!

[Mrs Moustoir]

Until this year I'd never been able to get parsnips to germinate - perhaps I was trying too hard! A few years ago you couldn't buy parsnips here so I really wanted to grow some. Now the shops do stock them but they tend to be a bit old and bendy.

I read about "chitting" the seeds on damp kitchen roll under clingfilm and tried it. In Feb/March I sowed a whole packet of "Tender and True" in this way and the whole lot sprouted! You plant them into the soil when the little root is about 5mm long. Time will tell if they have actually GROWN to be tender and true rather than woody and forked...but judging by the lush leaf growth and my furtling to look at the roots - should be OK. If anything, I've helped the caterpillars!

My friend let a parsnip run to seed and that has self seeded all over her veg plot, unfortunately, she hates them.

[Peggy Sue]

Peggy Sue - try chucking some dill seeds around willy nilly. Don't sow them properly. Every time I dead head them (the ones in my flower beds) I chuck some seeds around and for sure they will come up next year (if not now!). In my veg patch they come up everywhere including the paths and I pull them up if they are in the way or leave them if not. Coriander does exactly the same thing! I also do the same with love in a mist (in flower beds) but the blooming things are coming up now yet I wanted to dig some compost in there first!

Yes my corriander will do that but I've tried every which way with dill, think I need to take someones seeds from flower rather than from a packet

Mind you the willy nilly thing has another disadvantage- my OH come along and weeds themout- happened to my cornflowers!

[Millymollymandy]

Peggy Sue, pm me your address, and I'll go out and collect some seed and send it to you.

But don't blame me if it doesn't come up!

Edited to say that my OH wouldn't DARE weed my garden, as he knows that I know what every miniscule seedling is, weed, herb or pretty plant!

[Jandra]

Hi Berti,
It's normal, parsnips make lots of leaves. I'd take it as a sign of good health. I've had som,e monster parsnips from bushy plants!
Groetjes, Jandra

[JeremyinCzechRep]

I'm having some work done on my house and the builders needed somewhere to dump some rubble. They dumped it on my parnsips! They were under the rubble for a week - and today was the day when the rubble was removed. I dug up about ten and they are delicious! I strongly recommend others to cover their parsnips with rubble for a week for the same excellent result.
Tongue in cheekly
Jeremy