Weed or Plant?

[GardenGeisha]

Steve,

Do you know what the main differences are between Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) and cultivated parsnip (Pastinaca sativa L.)? And what variety of parsnips do you grow?

I found out that my mystery weed is actually Wild Parsnip. Yippee. I can dig and eat its root after the frost.

I had wondered why I have so many giant, gorgeous swallowtail butterflies in my garden this year. Turns out wild parsnip is a host plant for them. Do you get a lot of swallowtail butterflies with your cultivated parsnip plants, too?

Here is a fascinating article. Check out the stuff on webworms:

http://www.recorder.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2601975&archive=true

 

[digitS']

We sure do have wild parsnips, GardenGeisha. They are all over in the foot hills blooming during the spring. I think of them as something Van Gogh might have painted - a kind of daytime, Starry Night wildflower .

I've never allowed my parsnips to stay in the garden thru the winter & bloom the next year. There are plenty of swallowtails around - maybe for the wildflowers, huh?

A couple of years ago, I bought seed for Javelin, which Johnny's says can be grown for spring harvest. I don't know if they had a different description then or I just ignored that scheme. THAT was the variety I thought had an unpleasant taste . . . but, I harvested the roots in the fall just as usual. Maybe Javelin needed overwintering to become sweet.



I've only grown parsnips for about the last 8 or 10 years. Long ago, I tried All American. They grew very poorly and that made me unsure of how parsnips would do for me in the garden! Then, I had Gladiator for a number of years and was happy with them but didn't order from a seed company where I could get a packet this year :/. So . . . this year I went with Harris Model. I hope that wasn't a mistake but they are growing very nicely right now .

Steve