Tender and True parsnips

parsnips 10 weeks after planting

Parsnips taking over

The Tender and True parsnips are now 8 weeks old, and suddenly the greenery has shot up and is getting very bushy and tall.

I only hope that the parsnips are growing equally as vigorously beneath the surface.  Sadly it will be months before I find out.

Tender and true parsnips after 8 weeks

 I've also this week taken out some of the smaller plants, to give the larger ones room to grow.  I've transplanted these into gaps where carrot seedlings did not come up.  I don't know whether they will continue to grow or not, but it's worth a go.

Tender and True parsnips still going well

Just a quick post to show how the parsnips look today - still growing nicely.

The only worry now is how large the parsnip plants with grow to.  After just a few weeks, they are already a decent size, I just hope they don't grow to take over the vegetable plot.


Remember to click on the "Tender and True parsnips" link on the top right of this page or directly below here to see week by week how the parsnips have been growing from seed to seedling to fully grown plant to the date of harvest.  

Not much to report here.

Another week gone, not a lot happened with the parsnips.  I may not photograph these every week from now on, as they seem to do diddly and will be growing for a loooong time.

5 week old parsnip seedlings

The seedlings are still coming along well after their slow start to life.  They are surrounded by rocket (to the left) and radishes to the right, but they will be long gone by the time the parsnips get to be big enough to need more room.

Right now, they probably need to be thinned out a bit, but it is pretty tricky deciding which seedlings die and which may live.  

It's a pretty big investment in time growing parsnips, as it will be about 8 or 9 months from planting to eating, so I am desperately hoping that when i finally get to uproot them, that there is something there under the soil!  

Tender and True Parsnips

Okay, I cheated a little with these parsnips.  I spotted a seed packet in the garden centre where instead of getting loose seeds, you get a strip of soft paper with the seeds embedded in the paper.

So planting is dead easy, you just unfold the strip of paper and cover it in dirt.  The variety is called tender and true parsnips.  They took a little over 3 weeks to germinate, but within a week of seeing the first little shoots appear, they now look like the photo below.

4 week old Parsnip true and tender seedlings