Parsnip
Vegetable · cool season
When to plant
- Sow seeds outdoors about 2 weeks before your average last spring frost.
- Ready to harvest about 120 days after planting.
Use fresh seed. Flavor improves after hard frost.
Frost dates depend on where you live. Enter your ZIP code to get exact dates.
Dates by zone: 3a 3b 4a 4b 5a 5b 6a 6b 7a 7b 8a 8b 9a 9b 10a 10b
Growing basics
- Sun
- Part sun (4–6 hours)
- Spacing
- 3–4 in
- Soil temperature
- At least 45°F
- Time to harvest
- About 120 days
- Containers
- At least 5 gallons
- Plant family
- Carrot family (umbellifers)
- Harvest per plant
- About 0.25 lb
- Seeds keep
- About 1 year
Companions
Keep apart: Horseradish. Horseradish spreads aggressively. Give it its own spot.
Keep apart: Mint. Mint spreads aggressively into neighbors. Keep it in a pot.
Keep apart: Fennel (bulb). Fennel slows the growth of most garden plants. Grow it on its own.
Keep apart: Sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke). Sunchokes spread aggressively and shade neighbors.
Grow it well
Tips
- Keep carrot seeds moist until they sprout. Carrots can take 2 to 3 weeks to sprout, and a dry crust on top stops them. Lay a board over the row to keep it damp, check every day, and lift it as soon as you see sprouts.
- Thin seedlings early. Crowded carrots, beets, and lettuce never size up. Once seedlings have their first true leaves, snip the extras at the soil line with scissors, leaving the spacing on the packet. Pulling them disturbs the roots of the ones you keep.
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