Botanical Interests - All American Parsnip Seeds

'All-American' parsnip thickens early, in as little as 95 days. Parsnips have a long culinary history, are versatile and nutritious and are being added to the menus of many upscale and specialty restaurants. Their tender, white, carrot-like roots have a sweet and distinctive flavor that's delicious in soups and stews, mashed, stir-fried or roasted. The trick to growing the sweetest parsnips? Wait to harvest until after the first frost. Cold temperatures change the starch into sugar making them sweeter.

To harvest parsnips, dig them up with a shovel or garden fork being careful not to cut or damage roots. If you wish to harvest before winter, leave parsnips in the ground for at least 2 weeks after a hard fall frost. You can improve the sweetness by storing at 32 degrees F for 2 weeks before using. If you leave parsnips in the soil over winter, throw a few inches of soil over the crowns and mulch heavily with straw or compost after the first fall frosts. During extended cold periods, stored starches are changed to sugar as the first-year plants prepare for new growth, thus roots harvested in early spring are especially tender and sweet. The roots lose flavor and become fibrous if you do not harvest them before new tops and seed stalks begin to grow.