Parsley

[A Petro]

Does anyone grow Hamburg rooted parsley. I get lot of leaves on top but rarely any roots. What am I doing wrong.?

[Steve Peek]

Parsnips require a long season (100-120 days). it could be you are feeding too much nitrogen early and the plant can't stop the vegetative growth to produce a root.

[David Hare-Scott]

There seems to be some common-name confusion here. Looking at google images there seems to be two different plants called "parsnip". One has leaves like the herb parsley the other the leaves are broader and less feathery.

The one I know as parsnip is Pastinaca sativa, which has the larger broader leaves and the large root has a characteristic strong aromatic, slightly sweet flavour. This is closely related to the carrot and needs similar conditions to grow well.

See here:

other with leaves like common parsley is Petroselinum crispum, (or Petroselinum hortense) which appears to be the Hamburg rooted parsley also called parsnip. I have not grown this one but the remark about avoiding excessive nitrogen feeding seems right to me.

See here:

I seeing these images correctly? Are the two species as I described?

David

[Steve Peek]

> Am I seeing these images correctly? Are the two species as I

The P. sativa looks like the parsnips I grow as well as the wild "cow parsnip" found in the rich mountain coves. Parsley, parsnips and carrots are all related. I never heard of the Hamburg parsnip, but the roots look like what I grow. That's the trouble with common names, once you leave your home area the names change and you can't be sure you are referring to the same thing.