Hollow Crown Parsnip Seeds (Pastinaca sativa) Classic heirloom with long, sweet roots. Excellent for roasting, soups, and winter harvests

Minimum: 75+ Seeds

🤍 Sweet, Earthy, and Cold-Loving • Classic Heirloom • Winter Kitchen Staple

Bring heritage flavor to your cool-season garden with Hollow Crown Parsnip, a time-tested heirloom prized for its long, tapered white roots and sweet, nutty taste. First introduced in the 1820s and still beloved today, this variety thrives in the cold—developing even more flavor after a frost. Whether you're roasting, mashing, or adding depth to winter soups and stews, Hollow Crown delivers hearty satisfaction from root to leaf.

These vigorous plants produce smooth, creamy-white roots that grow deep into the soil—yielding impressive harvests with rich, complex flavor. As a biennial grown as an annual, Hollow Crown Parsnip is perfect for fall and winter harvests, adding nutrition and versatility to your seasonal kitchen.

🌿 Why Grow Hollow Crown Parsnips?

🍯 Sweet, Nutty Roots
Cold turns their starch into sugar—making them perfect for roasting, caramelizing, and hearty winter dishes.

🌱 Long, Tapered Heirloom Roots
Classic form with creamy white skin and fine texture. Can reach 10–15" long in deep, loose soil.

❄️ Frost-Improved Flavor
Roots get sweeter after frost—ideal for late fall and overwintering harvests.

🌾 Reliable, Hardy, and High-Yielding
Great performance in cool climates with minimal care.

🌱 Open-Pollinated & Non-GMO
A true heirloom—natural, untreated seeds you can grow and save with confidence.

🌿 How to Grow Hollow Crown Parsnips

Botanical Name: Pastinaca sativa
Plant Type: Biennial (grown as annual for root harvest)
Days to Germination: 14–21 days (parsnips are slow starters!)
Days to Maturity: 100–120 days
Sunlight: Full sun
Soil: Deep, loose, well-drained soil with organic matter
Seed Depth: ½ inch
Spacing: 3–6 inches apart
Row Spacing: 12–18 inches
Root Size at Harvest: 10–15 inches long
USDA Zones: 2–9

Direct sow in early spring as soon as the soil is workable. Parsnips require patience—keep the soil consistently moist until germination. For extra sweetness, harvest after the first frost or leave roots in the ground into winter (mulch well for protection).

🛠️ Growing Tips

• Use fresh seed each season—parsnip seeds lose viability quickly.

• Thin early to allow room for roots to size up.

• Deep, stone-free soil = longer, straighter parsnips.

• Mulch heavily for fall and winter harvesting.

• Rotate crop locations yearly to avoid pest buildup.

🌎 Perfect For:

🔥 Winter Gardens – One of the best root crops for cold-weather harvests
🥕 Root Cellars & Cold Storage – Keeps well for months when stored cool and dry
🍲 Kitchen Gardens – Adds sweetness and depth to soups, roasts, and mash
🧑🌾 Heirloom Plots – Classic 19th-century variety with a proven track record
🧺 Market Growers – Reliable yields of unique, high-flavor roots for cool-season sales

🌱 Fun Fact:
Before the widespread use of sugarcane, parsnips were a primary sweetener in medieval Europe! Their natural sugars intensify after exposure to frost, making them one of nature’s original “candy roots.”

🔒 Old-World Flavor, Organic Quality

At Terra Mater Gardens, we specialize in seeds that tell a story—and feed your table. Our Hollow Crown Parsnip Seeds are open-pollinated, organic, and selected for vigor, flavor, and old-fashioned charm. Grow them deep, grow them slow, and enjoy one of the sweetest root vegetables nature has to offer.