How to grow Parsnip in Australia

Where to plant

Choose a sunny, open, well-drained bed. Dig it deeply and remove stones, roots and clods until the soil is fine and crumbly, so the roots can grow down unimpeded. Do not dig in fresh manure or compost just before sowing, as it makes the roots fork; a bed improved for an earlier crop is ideal. A soil pH of 6 to 7 suits them.

Parsnips are in the carrot family. Rotate them, and do not sow where carrots or parsnips grew recently, which helps avoid carrot root fly and canker.

• Hobart: parsnip country. Sow fresh seed from September to December and dig after winter frosts for the sweetest roots.
• Canberra: sow from September to February into warm soil; seed fails in cold winter soil. Dig through winter as needed.
• Melbourne, Sydney and Perth: sow from April to August. An August sowing still matures before summer.
• Adelaide: sow from February to April for a winter harvest, or in August and September for a spring start.
• South East Queensland and the Northern Rivers: sow from April to July so the crop grows through the cool months.
• North Queensland: marginal; sow from April to July in the dry season. Darwin is too warm.

How to plant

1. Buy fresh seed every year. Parsnip seed is best used within months and rarely lasts beyond one year.
2. Make a drill about 1 to 2 cm deep and water along it.
3. Sow seeds thinly, or two or three every 10 to 15 cm, as germination can be patchy. Cover and firm lightly. Space rows about 30 cm apart.
4. Keep the soil moist from sowing until the seedlings emerge, which can take two to four weeks. Watering deeply twice a week is a good rule.
5. Sowing a few radish seeds along the row marks where the parsnips are; the radishes are pulled long before the parsnips need the room.
6. Thin seedlings to 10 to 15 cm apart when they are a few weeks old. Thinned seedlings do not transplant well.

Watering and feeding

Keep the soil evenly moist through the season. Steady watering gives long, smooth roots; dry spells followed by heavy watering can split them. Wicking beds suit parsnips well.

Parsnips need little or no fertiliser. Extra feeding grows leaves at the expense of roots, and manure causes forking.

Pruning and care through the year

• Weed by hand rather than with a hoe. Hoe damage to the crowns lets in canker and pests.
• Mark the rows with stakes or labels so you can find the roots once the leaves die down.
• Sow small batches a few weeks apart so they are not all ready at once.

Harvesting

Parsnips are ready about four to six months after sowing, when the roots are a good size and the leaves begin to die down. Where you get frost, wait until after a frost or two, which sweetens the flavour.

Loosen the soil deeply with a fork alongside the row before easing the roots out, so the long roots do not snap. In cold areas roots can stay in the ground and be dug as needed through winter. Lifted roots keep for up to about two weeks in the fridge crisper.

Growing in pots

Parsnips can be grown in a deep container at least 30 cm deep, filled with fine, stone-free potting mix, but their long roots are better suited to a deep garden bed.

Using it

Roast parsnips with honey or alongside other root vegetables, mash them, or use them in soups and stews. Their natural sweetness strengthens after frost.