A field of parsnip plants in full leaf
How to grow

Parsnips

Takes a hard frost. Sow outdoors 2 to 3 weeks before your last frost. First harvest 100 to 180 days from sowing.

Photo: “A field of parsnips near Anmer - geograph.org.uk - 4091652” by Richard Humphrey, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.

  • Full sun6–8 hours or more
  • 2–6 in apartRows 12–24 in
  • 100–180 daysFrom sowing
  • Soil 40 °F +pH 6.0–7.2
  • 1–2 in a weekEven watering
  • HardyTakes a hard frost

Your dates

Put in your ZIP code to see when to start, plant and harvest parsnips where you live, from your own frost dates.

Look up the frost dates for this ZIP code
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From seed to harvest

  1. SowSeed goes inWeek 0
  2. SproutFirst shoots showWeek 2–3
  3. True leavesFirst real leavesWeek 4–6
  4. ThinThin to final spacingWeek 6–8
  5. Root swellsRoots thickenWeek 9–14
  6. HarvestReady to pickWeek 14–26

How to plant and grow

  1. Loosen the bed

    Work the soil deep and pick out stones. Parsnip roots grow long, and hard or rocky soil makes them fork.

  2. Sow in early spring

    Sow seed 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep, 2 to 3 weeks before last frost, once the soil is about 40 °F.

  3. Wait for sprouts

    Seedlings are slow, taking two to three weeks or longer. Keep the seedbed moist the whole time.

  4. Thin seedlings

    Thin to 2 to 6 inches apart in rows 12 to 24 inches apart. Wear gloves: leaf sap can burn skin in bright sun.

  5. Water through summer

    Give 1 to 2 inches of water a week. This is a long-season crop that grows all summer.

  6. Dig after frost

    Leave roots in the ground until after a few hard frosts, which sweeten them. Mulch to dig through winter, and finish before spring regrowth.

Common problems

A carrot rust fly maggot tunnelling into a carrot root
Photo: “Psila rosae maggot, wortelvlieg made” by Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.

Carrot rust flyPestNo spray helps

What you'll see: Rusty-brown tunnels scar carrot and parsnip roots, and small cream-colored maggots may be inside. Tops may yellow and wilt.

Prevent

  • Cover carrots and parsnips with row cover from sowing, and seal the edges.
  • Lift carrots by fall rather than leaving them in over winter. Parsnips left in the ground stay at risk.
  • Move carrots and their relatives to a new bed each year.

Organic options

  • Row cover is the dependable control. Pull and destroy damaged roots.

Conventional options

  • None recommended for home gardens.
A stunted carrot plant with a yellow, bunched witches'-broom top from aster yellows
Photo: “Aster yellows symptoms carrot 2” by Whitney Cranshaw, CC BY 3.0 US, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).

Aster yellowsDiseaseNo spray helps

What you'll see: New leaves yellow and twist, and plants stay stunted with a tuft of thin shoots. Carrot roots turn small, hairy and bitter.

Prevent

  • Pull weeds such as wild carrot, chicory and dandelion that carry the disease.
  • Cover young plants with row cover to keep the leafhoppers that spread it off them.
  • Grow varieties sold as resistant or tolerant, where offered.

Organic options

  • Remove and destroy infected plants as soon as you see them.

Conventional options

  • None. No spray cures an infected plant.
A green, black and yellow black swallowtail caterpillar on a stem
Photo: Agdipasquale, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Swallowtail caterpillarsPestSprays are rarely needed

What you'll see: Plump green caterpillars banded in black with yellow dots eat parsley, dill, fennel and parsnip leaves. They grow into black swallowtail butterflies.

Prevent

  • Plant extra parsley or dill to share.
  • Check plants in the morning.

Organic options

  • Hand-pick, or move caterpillars to a spare patch of dill or fennel.

Conventional options

  • Same as organic.
Tomato roots swollen with root-knot nematode galls
Photo: Plant pests and diseases, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Root-knot nematodesPestNo spray helps

What you'll see: Plants are stunted and wilt in the heat. Roots have knobby swellings, and carrots may fork.

Prevent

  • Grow resistant varieties; look for N on the label.
  • Rotate susceptible crops, or move the garden.
  • Solarize the bed: clear plastic over moist, tilled soil for 6 weeks or more in summer.
  • Grow French marigolds as a cover in infested beds.

Organic options

  • Pull and remove roots after harvest.
  • Keep an infested bed bare and tilled through the summer.

Conventional options

  • None for home gardens; nematicides are for commercial applicators.
A dense colony of grey aphids on a kale leaf
Photo: “Aphids on Kale leaf” by Sanjay Acharya, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.

AphidsPest

What you'll see: Clusters of small, soft-bodied green, black or gray insects on new shoots and under leaves. Leaves curl, and a sticky film may coat them.

Prevent

  • Check leaf undersides each week; a few aphids do little harm.
  • Pull nearby weeds, such as wild mustards, that feed aphids.
  • Grow flowers for lady beetles, lacewings and hover flies, and avoid broad sprays that kill them.

Organic options

  • Knock aphids off with a strong spray of water.
  • Insecticidal soap or horticultural oil on leaf undersides, repeated as the label allows.
  • Neem oil, or OMRI Listed pyrethrins (without piperonyl butoxide).

Conventional options

  • Malathion or permethrin, if the crop is on the label. These also kill the insects that eat aphids.

Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.

Read and follow the product label: it is the law. It sets the rate, the crops it is for, and the days between spraying and picking. Products registered vary by state; for organic growing, look for products allowed under the USDA National Organic Program (OMRI Listed). We name active ingredients, not brands or rates.

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Sources

Planting dates and growing facts checked against these university extension and USDA pages:

Growth-stage drawings: TallyTill.

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