Parsnips! Long ones, short ones, skinny ones, fat ones!

soeasytocraft
soeasytocraft Posts: 237 ✭✭✭

I'm new to parsnips here in zone 3a. Leaving in ground for winter harvest is not an option. Would love to hear some successful ways to store them. We have a cold storage room.

Planning to freeze some of the smaller ones that won't keep as well.

Looking forward to ideas! 😀

Comments

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Use the cold storage room and place in sand and container

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    I have heard of what Denise suggested. I freeze parsnips.

    I LOVE parsnips. They have got to be one of my most favorite vegetables! 🥰

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I freeze them too and somethimes mix them with other veggies and freeze together. We have made a parsnip veggie herb patty and freeze those to fry or bake.

    With planning maybe next year you could have an outdoor area to grow them in the winter. My friend in Alaska used to grow carrots and parsnips in the winter out doors and still harvest them. She was a zone 2 and one amazing gardener

  • soeasytocraft
    soeasytocraft Posts: 237 ✭✭✭

    @Denise Grant The herb patty you mention sounds great! Will have to give that a try!

    I'd love to hear how your Alaskan friend manages in the winter. Our ground is totally frozen like cement in the winter. I know one thing digging in the winter will never happen. I love parsnips but not that much! 😜

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @soeasytocraft If you are going to store them in sand, make sure it is moist sand. I used dry sand one year for carrots and the dry sand sucked all of the moisture out of the carrots. They were wizened up little sticks when we emptied the buckets.

    @Denise Grant I, too, would like to hear how the Alaskan gardener is able to harvest root veggies in the winter. Is the veggie patch covered with a blanket of hay? Even at that, -40 (and colder) temps will penetrate into most things. We like to leave our parsnips in the ground until they have had a frost as they will be sweeter, but once it gets below about -12C or so for a few days, the ground is too hard to dig.

    Mine are currently in a bucket in the basement waiting to be dealt with into the freezer.

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @soeasytocraft @torey

    I was looking for photosy friend Sherry had sent from her Alaskan gardens. Its been a bit so of course I cannot find them

    I know she worked with micro climates and sun reflection. She saved her seeds long enough that thye have started adapting to cooler weather. She also had a trampoline submerged mini gardens to add time to her growing climates.

    But what seemed to work best for her and root crops were growing them in Straw bales. She could harvest carrots and parsnips all winter.

    I have a few links for winter gardening with root crops in straw bales I will share in a bit

  • soeasytocraft
    soeasytocraft Posts: 237 ✭✭✭

    @Denise Grant sounds like she has a lot of creative ideas going. Would love to learn more about them.

    We did straw bales one time but didn’t realize roots veggies would grow in them. It would make harvesting in winter much easier that’s for sure!