So not easy but if you give up on the idea of long tapering roots then a good stumpy crop can be achieved by starting them off in root trainers or loo roll tubes. You might not be able to enter the parsnip class at your local veg. show but you will be able to put parsnips on the table at Christmas.
At least that the goal. The last two years were fine on the growing front but harvesting at Christmas was the problem. A succession of -10c night time temperatures turned the ground solid and necessitated maximum effort with a a five foot pinch bar to prize out the prized roots. This year all was looking good and we started on our crop before the required cold weather that allegedly brings out their flavour. Apart from one cold week 2011 is ending wet and very windy so harvesting was easy. But just look at the picture.
One of our Christmas parsnips |
In case you are interested, the little shrub with the colourful foliage is a native of New Zealand and goes by the name of Pseudowintera colorata. It is a little gem and should slowly grow into a decent size shrub. Back in its native New Zealand it likes cool wet and windy places and is happy under snow. Also known as horopito and pepper tree, its leaves and bark are claimed to have medicinal properties. The specimen we have was kindly brought all the way from New Zealand by our son who lives there and is a selected variant called 'Red Leopard'. Thank you Tom.