Parsnip seeds have been planted today. The traditional time for sowing parsnips is February, but in our vegetable garden the parsnip seeds do better when the soil has warmed up.

Parsnip - Latin name Pastinaca sativa

Variety - Avonresister

Chosen because of good canker resistance , and ideal for small gardens and high density cropping. Growing enough root crops to last the winter is always a problem, so the opportunity to grow more, smaller roots seemed worth taking.

Soil preparation:

• luckily the bed had been covered with polythene to keep the rain off. So the soil was dry.

• sowing depth - 1cm
• distance between seeds - 10cm
• distance between rows - 30cm

• the row was then firmed down with the rake head
• the seed was watered in to firm the row