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Ground is prepared similarly to carrots, being ploughed, power harrowed and bedformed. We sow parsnips very late to avoid carrot fly, which means germination is often poor and spacing is eratic due to the shape of the seed (magnified it looks like a dinner plate - smooth spherical seed is much easier to handle). The result is a relatively poor crop with lots of weed! There are still plenty of parsnips which are lifted out of the ground with a harvester and then picked up by hand. Flavour is improved by the first frosts, when the leaves die back and starch is converted to sugar in the roots.
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