POINTS ABOUT PARSNIPS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 234, 2 October 1937, Page 6 (Supplement)

POINTS ABOUT PARSNIPS.

need to be sown early. The parsnip is of more value as an article of food than is commonly supposed, neorlv as valuable as the potato. The parsnip is a cultivated form of the wild parsnip, a native of Great Britain, chiefly found on chalky soils. Provided the soil is deeply cultivated and well drained, the parsnip can be grown on soil of almost any texture. A fine deep tilth lessens the risk of curving or forking of the root, and where the aim is exhibition specimens the soil must be deeply trcnclied. But for general purposes the chief bulk of the root is in the first 12 inches, and if the soil is well worked for this depth it will give a good crop of roots, everything else being in order. " ~

Sow pnrsnips early, so as to give them a long growing season, and avoid fresh stable manure. Ground that was manured the previous seaison for potatoes, celery, or some similar crop will suit well without any further manuring. Artificial manure can be applied. Use a mixture of superphosphate four parts, sulphate ammonia two parts, sulphate' of potash one part, allowing about loz to each yard of row. Apply it a few days before Bowing, either forking or hoeing it in. Later, when the plants have made the first rough leaf, they should be thinned to stand about Cin apart. Sulphate of ammonia, at the rate of ioz to the yard of row, should be applied and worked into the soil.

Parsnip seed will not keep its terminating power for much more than a year, so do not waste time sowin" old parsnip seed left over from the previous season. Cultivate throughout the season, but avoid damaging or cutting the crown or shoulders of the roots, as" this is the eause of scabby and cracked roots.