Last edited on November 02, 2026. View history
Guernsey Parsnip
A variety of parsnip
How to sow Guernsey parsnip: Direct seed outdoors, thin seedlings to 5cm apart
Sun requirement for Guernsey parsnip: Plant in Full Sun
An old parsnip dating back to before 1826 and said to originate in France. Plant very early in spring and harvest from autumn through to the following spring; more room gives larger roots. Direct sow once the ground warms, scattering over fine soil and covering with an old sheet or 70% shade cloth until seedlings emerge.
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Guernsey parsnip facts
Lifespan
Crop cycle
Max altitude
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For Guernsey parsnip, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 5°C and a shortest growing cycle of 80 days at its best temperature, about 1040 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your Guernsey parsnip will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
Growing Guernsey parsnips
- Dig the bed fine and stone free 2 weeks before sowing
- Mark the rows with radish seed at sowing
- Set or refill beer traps for slugs and snails 2 weeks after sowing every week
- Thin the seedlings 4 weeks after sowing
- Weed carefully between the rows 6 weeks after sowing every month
- Water in dry weather 6 weeks after sowing every 2 weeks
- Lift roots after a frost for sweetness at first harvest
- Lift the rest of the crop 8 weeks after first harvest
Plant Guernsey parsnips with
sweet potato
Video
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Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Pastinaca sativa L.
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Rosidae Apiales Umbelliferae |
|---|---|
| Killing temperature | growth: -1 °C, rest: -5 °C |
| Life form | herb |
| Life span | annual, biennial |
| Habit | acaulescent (or rosette plants) |
| Optimal soil depth | deep (>>150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | medium |
| Optimal soil fertility | high |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours), long day (>14 hours) |
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