Parsnip White Gem Seeds

Grow sweet, nutty White Gem parsnips for roasting, mash and warming soups. Give these creamy roots a cool growing season and a deep, well-drained bed.

Ready to grow your own parsnips? Follow our step-by-step Parsnip Grow Guide for direct sowing, patient germination, regional timing and careful harvesting.

Quick Grow Facts

• Crop: Pastinaca sativa ‘White Gem’, a biennial grown for its first-season edible root.
• Seed form: 10 g, 20 g or 100 g raw seed. Raw does not establish untreated status; follow the packet’s treatment directions. Sowing seed is not for eating or sprouting.
• Sowing season: Start with autumn, adjusted to local soil temperature, rainfall and frost. See the guide’s four South African regional options.
• Position and soil: Full sun; deep, loose, stone-free, well-drained soil. Avoid fresh manure in the root zone.
• Sowing: Direct sow 1.5 cm deep and cover with fine soil. Do not surface sow or routinely soak, scarify or chill unless the current packet requires it.
• Germination: Allow about 14–30 days, sometimes longer in cold conditions. Around 13–18°C soil temperature suits germination. Keep the seed zone evenly moist, never saturated.
• Thinning and spacing: Snip spare seedlings while young, around 8–10 cm tall. Leave 15 cm between plants and 30 cm between rows. Avoid transplanting; direct-sown plants need no hardening off.
• Growth form and height: A leafy rosette over a taproot. Allow for foliage up to about 50 cm high; conditions affect size. No routine support, pinching or pruning for the root crop.
• Care: Weed gently, water steadily and feed to soil-test or fertiliser-label guidance. Allow airflow; diagnose pest or disease symptoms before treating.
• Harvest: Plan around the product’s 175-day guide, roughly six months; the label does not specify when counting starts. Lift a sample to judge size and tenderness; weather can delay maturity. Loosen soil beside roots with a fork.
• Freshness: Buy for the coming sowing season. Keep seed cool, dry and sealed; older parsnip seed can lose vigour quickly. Check packet dates rather than assuming a guaranteed shelf life.
• Safe handling: Wear gloves, long sleeves and trousers. Sap on skin followed by sunlight can burn or blister. Grow for the roots, not edible foliage.

Getting a good start

A blank row after a week is not necessarily a failure. Parsnips emerge slowly; seed age, cold or hot soil, drying, waterlogging and soil crusting can all affect the stand. Keep the row marked and moist, and use the guide’s troubleshooting section if seedlings fail to appear or establish.

From garden to kitchen

Roast, boil or mash the roots, or add them to soups and stews. Cool weather can improve sweetness, but frost is not required to harvest usable roots. Lift before renewed vigorous growth and flowering, trim the tops and refrigerate sound roots. Wash before preparing food.

Brought to you by Ubuntuberg Seeds.