THE PARSNIP

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 October 1939, Page 3

THE PARSNIP

CULTIVATE GROUND WELL. The parsnip is a native of Britain, where it is found growing by the roadsides. To get good, large, tender roots it is necessary to have the ground deeply and well cultivated, bu-t not freshly manured. The ground for all roots crops should be deeply dug, or trenched in the autumn, and left rough through the winter. To prepare it for sowing fork it over, breaking up all lumps, but taking care to keep the fine weathered soil on top to form the seedbed. In a light sandy soil good shapely roots can be grown without holing but where the soil is heavy it is better to make holes with a crowbar about three feet deep and three inches wide at the top. These are filled with fine soil composed of loam two parts, leafmould one part, sand one part and an eight-inch potful of wood ashes and a six-inch potful of bunedust to every barrowload of the mixture. Fill the holes to the top with this soil, make a dent about two inches deep with the nuckles and sow three or four seeds in it, covering them with the prepared soil. Several seedlings will appear, but these arc thinned out to one at each hole, and by winter a nice shapely root should occupy each. As sowfi in rows the seedlings should be thinned out to from nine inches to a foot apart. As the roots take a long time to develop, the seed should be sown early this month. Hollow Crown and Tender and True arc good varieties.