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Post by steev on Oct 13, 2011 23:54:33 GMT -5
The year I grew Fullback, they were more round than those; I was able to gather the tops and pull them out. I tried Kral last year, to little result, no fault of theirs. Maybe I'll try both next year.
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Oct 14, 2011 0:09:45 GMT -5
The year I grew Fullback, they were more round than those; I was able to gather the tops and pull them out. I tried Kral last year, to little result, no fault of theirs. Maybe I'll try both next year. Do you remember the source of Fullback parsnip seeds? I had to dig these even though the ground was very wet from the storms we had last week. I'm sure glad I don't have moles/voles around here... My big problem is after the seeds are harvested: Then my battle begins with the mice and the moths and the weevils. At least this year I froze my peas immediately after harvest and drying, so no problems with weevil. And I'm storing seeds in glass jars that cycle through the freezer after they get filled. |
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Post by steev on Oct 14, 2011 1:14:04 GMT -5
I got the seeds from an SSE member who listed them as gotten from a common commercial source, Burpee or Field's or such. 2010 yearbook, I believe. I think he may have gotten them some years before and had an established patch. A very nice man.
Unlike your landlady, mine doesn't like parsnips. I just grow them for myself, so generally not many. I think I may have some of that batch of seed; I'll look. No idea how viable they are, so if I've just a few, I'll try to grow them out for us both. If there's a bunch, I'll send you half.
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Post by steev on Oct 14, 2011 11:37:14 GMT -5
I've looked and found no Fullback seeds in my storage.
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Post by 12540dumont on Oct 14, 2011 13:09:28 GMT -5
Joseph, Check this out. These are the parsnips I could not get out of the ground. They were on their way back to Vermont, via the underground. Leo broke my fork trying to get them out. Yes, my beautiful English fork. This was a row of Guernsey, from Solstice Seed. They were beautiful. Since I couldn't get them out, I let them go to flower and used them for cut flowers. They smelled divine. I adore parsnips. Parsnip chips are delicious. I dehydrated mobs of the ugly ones and reduced them to powder to add to soups and stews. The ones I left are reseeding in the corn. I mowed them and they're coming back! I think they are a candidate for a perennial flower. Bees liked em too. I ordered the Kral parsnips from La societe des Plantes in Quebec. And thanks to Dan...they arrived here. Attachments:
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Post by 12540dumont on Oct 14, 2011 13:16:27 GMT -5
They were vera purdy. Attachments:
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Post by throwback on Dec 30, 2011 23:17:47 GMT -5
Turga is good too, not quite a half-long variety but not pencil thin either that you see sold in the produce aisle. I got my original seed from Turtle Tree, and they do well here. I grow them for my milk cow. But they do well in the kitchen too  |
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Post by oxbowfarm on Dec 31, 2011 7:54:58 GMT -5
Just a caution for letting parsnip go to seed willy-nilly. It will go feral under the right conditions and feral parsnip is a bugger if you are mowing an area. Any sap you get on your skin will give you photosensitized burns in exposure to UV, same mechanizm as giant hogweed but not as severe. Ask me how I know this  We have feral parsnip all along our creek. It pretty much only survives in the zone that periodically floods but it would probably behave differently in other climates. |
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Post by richardw on Feb 14, 2012 23:57:59 GMT -5
I tried an experiment this last winter where i dug out 50cm of all the soil in one of my garden beds that measured 1m x 3m, i then removed about another 30cm of stones/shingle at the bottom, then replaced the soil back in layers adding compost as i went. This bed was then sown with Hollow Crown parsnip in late Aug and after reading this thread this morning i went out and pulled one to see how they are doing in soil that's much deeper than i had grown parsnips in before,certainly look good  |
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Post by canadamike on Feb 16, 2012 2:06:12 GMT -5
Parsnips are probably the most ununderstood crop.
Easy to grow in the north, but then what...I cannot say I love them as a veggie, too sweet. Do not ask me why, I have no answer. They are a veggie I LOVE to grow but not to eat, luckily I have friends...Oh! I eat some...but then when we look at our yearly consumption we are only hitting a few pounds. Maybe ten..not even sure
Last week we had guests, since I had no garden of mine last summer, despite the research gardens elsewhere( tomatoes and melons), I bought some for a root crop themed supper with friends
It turns out that I will NEVER love them as a veggie, only accept them.... too sweet....but I have made myself a goal of creating DESSERT recipes with them....
We french canadians are famous for our sugar pies, especially made with maple syrup, but I have a hunch parsnip will be very vey cooperative in the taste department....
I'll tell you later..
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Post by stevil on Feb 16, 2012 3:12:26 GMT -5
Parsnips are probably the most ununderstood crop. Easy to grow in the north, but then what...I cannot say I love them as a veggie, too sweet. Do not ask me why, I have no answer. They are a veggie I LOVE to grow but not to eat, luckily I have friends... Dear Southerner! Not so easy to grow in the (real) north is my experience. I also only have a few pounds a year, but I wish I had a lot more. I love parsnips, particularly baked in the oven, but nevertheless dislike sweet things and never eat sugar. They have a great flavour in my opinion. Up here, the season is a bit too short and they often react to the rapid changes in temperature in summer by bolting or at least beginning to bolt (hard roots). I think of them more as a winter crop and remember fondly the monster parsnips in the UK, which I can only fantasise about up here.. I sow mine in autumn and harvest the following November so they get a full year. Is it the summer temperature which it is too low for optimal growth. My soil is dark but clayey (i.e., you can just about form balls with it). The parsnips don't fork much. From a self-sufficiency point of view they are excellent as the roots are perfectly hardy and I save my own seed, something that's not possible with Carrot (too short season). By the way, I've just remembered I haven't answered your FB message -will get on to it soon... Cheers Stephen |
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Post by Hristo on Feb 16, 2012 11:08:13 GMT -5
I love parsnips, particularly baked in the oven... I'm growing from time to time parsnips, but alway used them as flavoring. This winter I finally decided to try them alone - steamed, but forgot them on the fire and from steamed they got baked. That way I found how great tasting they are. Steamed the flavor is very good, but baked they are great (most probably due to sugar caramelization). I have grown several varieties, but last year I grew only one - Cobham Improved Marrow. The Lesser Mole Rat (Spalax leucodon) is a problem here. It "helps" us to harvest most of the root/tuber crops and is especially helpful with the potatoes. Last year the parsnip was surrounded by Salsify, Black Salsify, Root Parsley and several potato varieties. It collected nearly 3/4 of the parsnip crop while barely touching the other species. Stephen, I have not seen you talking about breeding, but maybe you should think about it. Breeding parsnip for your climate could prove very successful, because this natural type of selection usually is very effective and on top of that is very easy to do - just plant lots of F2+'s. Then every good root goes for seed parent. I'm sure you will see fast improvement. Now I'm collecting varieties and will start a small breeding project. If everything is OK next year I should have seeds of many crosses (mostly F1) and I should be able to send you if you want. |
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Post by stevil on Feb 17, 2012 3:24:39 GMT -5
Stephen, I have not seen you talking about breeding, but maybe you should think about it. Breeding parsnip for your climate could prove very successful, because this natural type of selection usually is very effective and on top of that is very easy to do - just plant lots of F2+'s. Then every good root goes for seed parent. I'm sure you will see fast improvement. Now I'm collecting varieties and will start a small breeding project. If everything is OK next year I should have seeds of many crosses (mostly F1) and I should be able to send you if you want. Strange you should mention that as the same thought struck me after writing that yesterday! You're right, I haven't dabbled much in breeding, having devoted most of my land to testing new, close to wild perennial vegetables, the last year. However, inspired by you guys I did start selecting Caraway (Carum carvi) for a root crop two years ago - the roots have a good taste, the leaves are also excellent in the spring and it's of course a spice too. It struck me that it would make an ideal root crop well adapted to our cold climate. Nobody else is going to do this, so why not I thought, so we'll see! ...and yes, please to your offer of parsnip crosses. Best regards Stephen |
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Post by Hristo on Feb 21, 2012 9:49:51 GMT -5
Good to know you are working with Caraway. After I read your posts about how good are it's roots I wanted to work with it, but since I have never grown it I had no driving force to actually begin such project. Now I know where to forward any Caraway seeds I may accidentally get.
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Post by ottawagardener on Feb 21, 2012 10:27:23 GMT -5
Since we're talking Caraway now, I have some of your plants up and growing Stephen. Hoping to try some tops at least this spring but I"ll hold off on the roots one more year to taste the juveniles as I don't have a large population to work with. Thank you.
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