Parsnip Redux

My attempt to grow parsnips in my square foot garden in 2009 was a flat out failure. No growth above ground and none below. By most accounts, parsnip seeds do not winter well in the refrigerator, so I couldn’t even count on a 2010 second chance from 2009’s unused seeds. But I did save them (what’s another pack of seeds crammed in an empty tin?), and took a second shot at a parsnip harvest this past summer.

I am not an experienced gardener—just experienced enough to know that sometimes root veggies can produce an awful lot of greenery above ground and a distressingly awful lot of nothing below. When the leftover parsnip seed that I planted in two square feet of garden in mid July started producing voluminous top growth in September, I was not quite ready to declare success. It’s now November. And the next time somebody says that simple pleasures are the best, I’m not going to roll my eyes. I’m going to remember how happy I was when I pulled these beautiful parsnips out of the ground.

Looking back, I wish I kept gardener’s notes. If I had to pick a few keys to 2010 success, I would have to include planting in mid summer instead of spring, making sure the soil was richly supported with my homemade compost and regular watering, and trusting in the possibility that I am one lucky gardener.