Parsnip – White Gem

Good variety with chunky stumpy roots. I like the stumpy ones as there’s less change of the thin bit burning in a roast dinner, if they are too thin at the end they just burn!

• These are not suitable for sowing in modules or seeds trays, rather like carrots they are direct sow only. Sow direct Feb – June.  Sow thinly, 3 seeds per 1cm, in pre watered shallow rows and cover with approx 2cm compost. Cover with fleece for early sowings will hep with germination. They only like germinating in warm soil so have a feel of the soil first and only sow when soil feels warm to the touch. Once germinated, which can be slow, and large enough to handle, thin out to 15cm between each parsnip.
• As they can take up to a month to germinate, a nice idea is to sow a fast growing veg alongside, that way the fast veg can indicate where your parsnip seed lines are! A good one for this is radish, fast growing and you can pull these before the parsnips are ready so good for making use of space.
• Care – Fleece covering for early sowings helps early growth, particularly early on, later sowings will results in smaller harvests with the root being a little smaller.