Growing Parsnips in Scotland: The Complete Guide

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Everything you need to grow parsnips in Scotland, from an April sowing into warmed soil to roots sweetened by the first frost. We have done the research so you don't have to.

Parsnips are slow and they are patient, and in a Scottish garden that is the whole point. They sit in the ground from April to February. They take their time germinating, 14 to 30 days, sometimes longer, and then they take five to six months to reach a harvestable root. They want nothing added to the soil right before sowing, they resent transplanting, and the seed you saved from last year may not come up at all. A parsnip lifted in January from ground you cannot see under the snow, sweetened by frost and roasted with honey, is worth every month it spent in the bed.

Why parsnips suit Scottish patience

Parsnips are one of the few crops where the time they take is an asset rather than a liability. They stand in the ground through autumn and winter, harvested as you need them, and the cold makes them sweeter. Frost converts the starches to sugars. A Scottish winter delivers that cold reliably. In milder parts of Britain the frost-sweetening effect is less dependable. Here it is guaranteed.

The trade-off is the sowing. Parsnip seed is slow to germinate and loses viability fast. Old seed is the single most common cause of failure. Buy fresh seed every year, wait until the soil reaches about 12°C, and sow more than you think you need. A March sowing into cold wet ground is the most reliable way to get nothing. A mid-April sowing into soil warmed under cloches for a fortnight is the most reliable way to get a full row. The calendar matters less than the temperature.

Station sowing is how you get a full row out of unreliable seed. Drop three seeds every 10 to 15cm instead of dribbling a continuous line, then thin each station to the strongest seedling once they are through. Patchy germination stops mattering, because every station only has to produce one plant. Rows at 15cm give you roots you can handle in a normal kitchen; push them out towards 30cm if you are after size. Thinning costs you nothing here. The spares were never going to be lifted.

Varieties

Canker resistance is the trait that matters here: wet Scottish winters give canker exactly the conditions it needs, and a resistant variety holds through the cold without rotting. These carry the RHS Award of Garden Merit, a UK-wide award rather than a Scottish one.

Also worth considering

Soil and site

Parsnips want an open, sunny site with deep, light, free-draining soil. Remove as many stones as possible and loosen compacted ground. Parsnips form a long tap root and anything in the way makes them fork. Do not dig in organic matter immediately before sowing. Fresh manure or compost causes the roots to branch and fork. Ground that was improved with well-rotted manure or compost the previous year is ideal.

Keep parsnips away from carrots, both in the ground and in the rotation. Carrot fly is the pest they share, and putting them together doubles the risk.

Sowing

Sow outdoors from mid-spring, once the soil reaches about 12°C. March and April sowings do best; early May is still worth doing. Sow about 1cm deep in rows about 30cm apart. Scatter thinly or sow three seeds at 15cm intervals, because germination is unreliable and you want more seedlings than you need. Thin to one strong plant every 15cm once they are up.

Warming the soil with cloches for a couple of weeks before sowing helps germination. Parsnip seed is slow. Seedlings can take 14 to 30 days to appear, so be patient and keep the row weeded and watered while you wait. Covering seedlings with fleece or cloches after they appear gives them a head start.

Sow directly where the plants are to grow, because parsnips form a tap root that does not transplant. A fast crop like radishes sown between the parsnip rows makes use of the space while the parsnips are slow to establish. The radishes will be harvested long before the parsnips need the room.

Watering and care

Water young parsnips during dry spells until they are well established. Mature plants are fairly drought tolerant, but keep the soil evenly moist. Erratic watering causes the roots to split, and split roots are vulnerable to canker.

Weeding matters more for parsnips than for most crops. Hand-weed rather than using a hoe. A hoe blade that nicks the top of the root gives canker an entry point. Do not touch the leaves when weeding, because the smell of crushed parsnip foliage attracts carrot fly. Once the crop is growing strongly, the dense foliage usually shades out weeds on its own.

Cover the crop with insect-proof mesh from the start. Carrot fly is the main pest, and the mesh is the most effective defence. A thick mulch of garden compost around the plants holds moisture and suppresses weeds.

Harvesting

Parsnips are ready to lift from late summer or autumn onwards, once the leaves start to die down. Wait until after the first heavy frost before harvesting. The cold intensifies their sweetness and flavour. Use a garden fork to carefully ease the long roots out of the ground intact.

Parsnips are very hardy and can be left in the ground through winter, harvested as you need them. Mark the crop clearly with canes or labels before the leaves disappear, so the roots are easy to find in the snow. In frozen ground they are difficult to dig, so lift a few extra in November to ensure you have parsnips however cold it gets. Alternatively, cover the ground with straw as insulation. A parsnip lifted in January and roasted with honey is worth every month it spent in the bed.

Common problems

• Poor germination. The soil was too cold or the seed was old. Wait for 12°C, warm the soil with cloches, and buy fresh seed every year. Seedlings can take 14 to 30 days.
• Forked or distorted roots. Stony or compacted soil, or fresh manure dug in before sowing. Remove stones, loosen the ground, and never add organic matter immediately before sowing.
• Split roots. Erratic watering. Keep the soil evenly moist.
• Carrot fly larvae burrow into the roots. Cover the crop with insect-proof mesh from the start.
• Parsnip canker. An orange-brown rot at the top of the root, usually entering through damage. Hand-weed, choose canker-resistant varieties, and keep the soil evenly moist.

Common questions

Sources