Pastinaca sativa (Asteraceae or carrot family)

Production

Soil preparation

Parsnips should not follow after other members of the carrot family, and ideally not after potatoes and cucurbits.
Apply compost and other amendments based on the results of a soil test.
Spread lime as needed to increase both the pH and Ca levels. Dolomite lime will also increase Mg levels. Spread gypsum when calcium levels are low but pH is correct.
A fertilizer company can add OMRI-listed potassium sulfate to compost if it doesn’t have enough K to meet the crop’s needs. If this isn’t possible, spread the correct amount of fertilizer and incorporate it before planting. Alternatively, you can side-dress it during cultivation. Divide the recommended rate of the soil test in half if side-dressing.
Incorporate compost and plant parsnips in raised beds or ridges.
Jang, Sutton Jr. or Planet Jr. planters in combination with small seeds like parsnips don’t perform well with plant matter on the soil surface, so avoid planting them after tall green manures.
Create a fine and firm seedbed. Prepare the seedbed a few weeks before planting to encourage weeds to germinate. This provides the opportunity for some initial weed control via shallow cultivation or flaming.
Alternatively, place a silage tarp over the prepared and irrigated seedbed 3–5 weeks in advance of the seeding date (depending on the time of year). This will flush many annual weed seeds and reduce weed pressure. Remove the tarp when the weeds have died.

Common recommended fertilizer rates¹

Nitrogen	Phosphorus	Potassium	pH
150	0-160	0-200	6.0-6.4
¹Rates are for New York and are from Cornell University’s Nutrient Guidelines for Commercial Vegetable Production (2019). Check the Cornell website for updated guidelines, or consult with local experts for recommended rates outside New York.

Varieties

Maine parsnip evaluation
Javelin and Lancer are popular varieties resistant to canker.

Direct seeding information

Seeder	Rows	Seeds per foot	Seed plate no.	Depth (inches)	Sprocket setting	Notes
Planet Jr.	3	15-25	15	1/2		Planet Jr. seeders won’t allow for any singulation due to the shape of the seed. Thinning will be required.
MaterMacc	3	20	192 H 2.0	1/2	22-19
Jang	3	20	MM 12 or M12			Jang seeders won’t allow for any singulation due the shape of the seed. Thinning will be required.

Cultivation procedures

Cultivate or flame weed right before planting.
Flame weed again before parsnips come up. For accurate timing, put a glass plate over a small area of 1 row just after seeding. When the seedlings under the glass emerge, it’s time to flame weed. Basket weed with soil busters in front of the baskets, since the soil will be hard at this point.
After parsnips are up use a basket weeder or wheel hoe when weeds are still in the white thread stage, without burying the young crop. Weed control is more effective when you eliminate weeds before they emerge.
Use a finger weeder in combination with side knives for a second pass before the crop closes the rows. Alternatively, use spring hoes in combination with side knives if you want slight hilling of the crowns, which will also result in greater weed control.
When hand weeding, avoid working in full sun and when temperatures are high because it’s common to develop an allergic reaction from exposure to the leaves in the form of a skin rash. Provide workers with gloves and require them to work only with long sleeves and pants.

Deer, disease and insect protection

Check the soil for wireworms, as a high population can cause parsnip root to become unmarketable. To avoid wireworm damage, rotate with crops like onions, lettuce or alfalfa, or include buckwheat as a cover crop the previous year. Some results have been obtained using beneficial entomopathogenic nematodes. Promising results have also been obtained applying Beauveria bassiana.
To prevent deer damage, build a temporary fence using 4-foot fiberglass posts and attach 1 clearly visible wire like IntelliTape at about knee height. Build a second fence inside the first fence, but attach 2 wires or twine whereby the top line is about 7-feet tall. Deer don’t have very good depth perception and won’t attempt to jump this fence without checking out the first fence, so electrifying the second fence is often not needed. Bait the outside deer fence with peanut butter and electrify it. Make sure you build the fences, bait and electrify on the same day. The surprise effect is what matters most with this particular deer control.
Parsnip canker (Itersonilia perplexans): To avoid canker on parsnips, choose tolerant or resistant varieties, slightly hill the plants during cultivation, apply a long rotation and practice good sanitation after harvest by removing all diseased parsnips.

Other cultural practices

Irrigate frequently for optimum yield and plant health. Frequency depends on soil type, evaporation, precipitation and the particular needs of the crop.

Cover cropping procedures

November-harvested parsnips rarely allow for establishing a cover crop. Over seeding isn’t much of an option as the forking or lifting of the roots during harvest will damage the cover crop.
Remove all discarded parsnips from the field to avoid a buildup of pathogens.

Harvest

Yield	An average of 0.83 lbs. of marketable parsnips per row foot
Standards	Harvesting¹ 175 lbs. per person, per hour
Standards	Washing 300 lbs. per person, per hour with a barrel washer
Tools and supplies needed	⅝-bushel buckets, 20-bushel bulk bins, a tractor with a bedlifter and a tractor with a forklift. Use a harvesting fork or shovel if you don’t have a bedlifter.
¹Harvest rates don't include the time required to transport crops from the field to a wash and pack shed or storage facility.

Ready-to-harvest and quality indicators

The roots are 6–12 inches long with a minimum diameter of 1.5 inches.
Harvested roots are white and straight, and are free of woodiness, cankers or cavity spots. Roots with discoloration should be evaluated for the presence of plant pathogens. Some disease-causing organisms such as Rhizoctonia and Schlerotinia are known to infect edible root crops (and many other crops), leaving symptoms of discoloration. These pathogens can reside in the soil for many years. It’s best to submit samples of roots and shoots to a local lab or Extension office for evaluation. If disease is present, remove infected plant material (roots and shoots) from the field to avoid future problems with subsequent crops.

Harvest procedures

Undercut parsnips with a bed lifter, or use either a harvesting fork or shovel to loosen them.
Then pull out parsnips, inspect them for defects, twist off the tops and put them in buckets.
Separate out small parsnips.
Small parsnips don’t store well, so you cannot sell them through wholesale markets. You can give them out in CSA shares as long as you distribute them soon after harvest.
When harvesting in bulk, harvest parsnips into ⅝-bushel harvest buckets and transfer them into a 20-bushel bin. When the bed is fully harvested, avoid lugging the buckets to the headland. Instead, drive a tractor with forks along the harvested bed. People empty their buckets directly into the bin. When first loading a bin, lower the buckets to the floor of the bin before dumping them, otherwise the long drop can damage the roots. If multiple beds are harvested, leave the buckets where you emptied them. This prevents unnecessary trips in retrieving buckets. Once harvest is completed, rinse all buckets to reduce cross contamination to other crops.
Rapid cooling to 41° immediately after harvest is essential. Keep the cooler at a high humidity.

Washing and sorting procedures

Wash hands and rinse boots before entering the wash-and-pack shed, and cover up field clothes with a bib. If a long-sleeve shirt contains soil, remove this as well.
Barrel wash for short-term storage. For long-term storage, wait until after storage to wash.
A barrel washer works best if filled with approximately 300 lbs. of parsnips.
Hose the parsnips with potable water before they enter the washer, so any dirt on the parsnips is soft.
A barrel washer should have a sorting table at its end. Sort out any parsnips with defects. Sort by size if needed.

Additional resources

Packing and storage summary for parsnips

Packing in the field	800 lbs. per bulk bin.
Packing for delivery	25 lbs. in plastic bags See the International Federation for Produce Standards for the correct PLU code. Add the prefix 9 for organic crops.
Storage	At 32°–34° and 98% humidity. Pack in closed containers or bags for long-term storage. Parsnips are highly sensitive to ethylene exposure, which makes them turn bitter. Allow for good air exchange and don’t store with crops that release ethylene.

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.