parsnips ready ?

[hawthorns]

my parsnip are already large the top of the root is about the same size as a tennis ball and the foliage is about 3 ft tall. they look ready to pull but there not supposed to be ready til early autumn. they did go in early but should i wait

[Capsid]

You could try one. But the flavour improves with a frost.

[baggyman]

Is that really true about the frost? Surely the frost would only penetrate about a couple of inches deep. Would freezing the parsnip before thawing and cooking have the same effect?
Just curious because I have a few parsnips that look ready and am longing to get at 'em!

[hawthorns]

well i couldnt wait so ive pulled the beauty. see pics. it is 7" long and 2.5 " wide.

[rustylady]

When did you sow them? They look fine. You could always mimic the "frost effect" by storing in the fridge for a bit before you use them. Apparently the frost turns the starch in the roots into sugar so they taste sweeter.

[Cloud]

Freeze em you got nothing to loose.Gardening is all about trial and error!!!!

[pjh75]

I can't see the roots on mine, but the foliage is about 2ft tall. Hope there is something going on underground!?

[Alice]

You can eat your parsnips any time you like Hawthorns. Eat them as babies or leave in the ground til huge. Enjoy.

[Mikey]

My dad always told me, that if you leave your parsnips in the ground until after the first frosts then they will be sweeter than before. I have never experimented to disprove the theory.

[Tracey]

I started eating mine about a month ago. They're huge! They were so big I had difficulty pulling them up in one piece. Tasted delicious. Don't mean to brag, but they're one of my few successes.

[lynda66]

i pulled up some baby carrots yesterday, and thought i'd pull up the biggest parsnip, it was about half the size of my little finger ..... i guess they take longer than carrots?

[HeyWayne]

I "pulled" up a few parsnips today. Broke a finger nail trying to dig one out, wiggled about with the fork to loosen the soil and still had a fight on my hands. Don't come out easy do they?

[zazen999]

I wiggled the soil around my first sowing parsnip, which went in the lottie about mid april. The neck is about 2-3 inches wide.

I'm leaving it until the first frost, or until christmas; whichever is first. Then, taking it to my brother's, for him to cook. We don't have proper roast at Xmas, we have chilli, so my bro does a roast when we go there. Hopefully, we can provide ALL the veg this year for it.

Although, I don't want Xmas too soon, it comes around too quickly as it is.

[baggyman]

If they are big enough, eat em! You never know when something might attack em.

[Tracey]

I "pulled" up a few parsnips today. Broke a finger nail trying to dig one out, wiggled about with the fork to loosen the soil and still had a fight on my hands. Don't come out easy do they?

Cut off the foliage, push a bulb planter deeply over the parsnip and pull.