[Elm street]

We sowed direct in a 6" deep trench filled with MPC in mid April, we now have big ( around 5" diameter ) stubby roots that are nice and tasty but have forked. We harvested our first few yesterday morning and had them for lunch!

[Mattgregory27]

Am lucky to have light soil when it comes to root crops, but I sowed mine in late February this year under cheap 3m long clear plastic tunnel  cloches which I removed as soon as they had germinated and this worked really wall as I had great germination and a lovely crop this year. Will be doing the same again next year. This also worked well for early carrots sowed at the same time!

[EllenJane]

I've been really pleased with my parsnips this year. They always grow well in my soil but sometimes they fork as the soil is clay. This year I took a plug of soil out with a bulb planter, then deepened and widened the hole with a dibber, filled it back up with compost, popped a pinch of seeds on top and then covered with more compost.

Sounds a bit of a faff but I find once that's done they don't require much more. Bit of thinning, weeding (am planning on 'marking' them this year with some cut in half toilet rolls, last year I weeded out a few by accident!) and watering at the start, plus some slug pellets and that's about it. I'm getting lovely, tasty roots and very little forking (only one so far). The only problem is getting them out, they seem to be reaching for Australia

[devonbarmygardener]

Is the plant on the right really a parsnip!?!?
Never seen them grow like that.

I just direct sow seed into the ground as early as possible (they're supposed to need a frost to help germinate apparently)  and leave them too it.
I also don't see the point in very long tap roots - they get so thin they're unusable 

[mumofstig]

Is the plant on the right really a parsnip!?!?

Looks like a pinch of seeds left to grow together and not thinned out 

[Tenhens]

Have struggled with this veg, have used the toilet role approach and have one parsnip on the plot! Earmarked for that special day next month!!

Agree with Devonbarmygardener on long tap roots. Shorter has to be better for the plate.  Will be trying again next year.

[Yorkshire Lass]

Shorter has to be better for the plate.  Will be trying again next year.

I was disappointed my 6" parsnips were not longer but now I am looking forward to eating them on Christmas Day 

[surbie100]

Agree with Devonbarmygardener on long tap roots. Shorter has to be better for the plate.  Will be trying again next year.

White Gem are supposed to be a stump-rooted parsnip. Will be trying that next year.

[8doubles]

I also don't see the point in very long tap roots - they get so thin they're unusable 

I like Gladiator, if your  parsnip is 20cm wide at the thick end you get a lot of usable veg before it gets too thin!

[Headgardener22]

I guess there's a happy medium for length. I've grown Tender & True and the stumpy ones (4 inches long) seem to have more canker and the core is much bigger and softer. Those which have grown longer (12 inches long) seem to have less canker and the core is much slimmer.

They're still nice though.

[Yorkshire Lass]

I also don't see the point in very long tap roots - they get so thin they're unusable 

I like Gladiator, if your  parsnip is 20cm wide at the thick end you get a lot of usable veg before it gets too thin!

I am keen to try Gladiator next year 

[sunshineband]

Is the plant on the right really a parsnip!?!?
Never seen them grow like that.

I just direct sow seed into the ground as early as possible (they're supposed to need a frost to help germinate apparently)   and leave them too it.
I also don't see the point in very long tap roots - they get so thin they're unusable 

I have never heard this before: I thought they needed frost to make them taste sweeter.

Going right back to the original poster' question about the tangly rooted parsnip... I suspect this may have happened due to very stony soil or to manure in the soil. I get some a bit like this sometimes. Their taproot forks as soon as it hits anything hard, even a clay lump, and forks again if it hits something else, and this is the result.

Having faffed about with toilet roll tubes, paper pots, germinating on kitchen towels on the windowsill, I seem to have the best results from direct sowing mid April, in soil that has had not been manured even the previous year and in beds where I have dug out as many stones as I can and given them a 'tube; of compost to grow down.

I also grow them under environmesh as otherwise carrot flies attack them.

But it is worth it as we do have tasty parsnips 

[devonbarmygardener]

I grow 'Tender and True' mainly.
I get them direct in the ground end of Jan, beginning of Feb - weather dependent.
I sow a small cluster of 3-4 seeds about a fingers-length apart and see what germinates

[cadalot]

Is the plant on the right really a parsnip!?!?
Never seen them grow like that.

Going right back to the original poster' question about the tangly rooted parsnip... I suspect this may have happened due to very stony soil or to manure in the soil. I get some a bit like this sometimes. Their taproot forks as soon as it hits anything hard, even a clay lump, and forks again if it hits something else, and this is the result.

Thanks to everyone for their answers, here are my answers to question posed.

The leafs on both were the same and they were in lines so I believe they were both parsnips

The soil is very fine but I suspect that the ones that went haywire are the sown directly ones and that it could be that I applied manure the winter before sowing from what you are saying, and I suspect that the few good ones were the ones I grew initially in toilet rolls.

I did try the germination on damp kitchen paper thing, but could not see any suggestion of roots forming. It would be good to see a photograph of what one actually sees when this happens.

I'm thinking of drilling some holes in the ground and filling with compost and trying sowing directly into that but I will also try again with toilet rolls next year. They appear to be a challenge to grow and thus it just has to be attempted. 

[Madame Cholet]

Did 2 sowings this year one early one late and only had 3 germinate 2 years ago when we had a very wet summer I had a bed full. I might cover them to keep moist next year.