Why are my Root veggies inedible?

[lunarlady]

First let me say that i have horrid soil for root veggies, mostly heavy clay that holds water like mad. But I figured at worse i would end up with stunted, odd shaped veggies. Well, I dug up some young parsnips and put them in the pot pie I made. Big mistake. I should have been clued in by the fact that I needed a cleaver to cut them, but I carried on thinking an hour plus of boiling would soften them up. Nope. They taste delightful to suck on, but are still hard as rocks. my family gamely picked them out of their dinner like hard little sticks. . Not my best spring garden meal addition. My DH sweetly suggested that they weren't "ripe" yet and the rest of the row will improve with age/size. Is he right? I thought root veggies were most tender when young. If that is the case, I need to dug these babies all up now for compost or I will be breaking my shovel blade trying!

Where did I go wrong? I've had many garden failures, but never one that is truly inedible. Any tips for making delightfully crisp root veggies that will soften correctly when cooked?

I'm afraid to try the carrots...

[BubblingBrooks]

Originally Posted by lunarlady 

First let me say that i have horrid soil for root veggies, mostly heavy clay that holds water like mad. But I figured at worse i would end up with stunted, odd shaped veggies. Well, I dug up some young parsnips and put them in the pot pie I made. Big mistake. I should have been clued in by the fact that I needed a cleaver to cut them, but I carried on thinking an hour plus of boiling would soften them up. Nope. They taste delightful to suck on, but are still hard as rocks. my family gamely picked them out of their dinner like hard little sticks. . Not my best spring garden meal addition. My DH sweetly suggested that they weren't "ripe" yet and the rest of the row will improve with age/size. Is he right? I thought root veggies were most tender when young. If that is the case, I need to dug these babies all up now for compost or I will be breaking my shovel blade trying!

Where did I go wrong? I've had many garden failures, but never one that is truly inedible. Any tips for making delightfully crisp root veggies that will soften correctly when cooked?

I'm afraid to try the carrots...

I would look into amending your soil very heavily over the next year. Clay does not offer much for plants.
Bring in lots of manure from a near by farm. Old rotten hay. Grass clippings. Anything you can get your hands on. Work them into the ground, and till it every couple of weeks.
Add more stuff this fall.
If you are interested in raised beds, you can layer all the above on top of cardboard and just let it sit until next spring as well.

[Owen'nZoe]

I'd definitely start working on the soil this year, but I'm confused about the timing on your parsnips. What zone do you live in? And when did you plant them?

[lunarlady]

I'm zone 3. I planted them last spring. I was told to let them winter over in the garden for best flavor, then dig them up come spring. Maybe the cold winter did them in? They taste great, if you don't try to chew them...

[Owen'nZoe]

Originally Posted by lunarlady 

I'm zone 3. I planted them last spring. I was told to let them winter over in the garden for best flavor, then dig them up come spring. Maybe the cold winter did them in? They taste great, if you don't try to chew them...

 Well, I think you probably let them stay in the ground a bit too long. They get woody if you let them grow into the second season. I generally try to pick mine in the fall sometime after the first frost, but before the ground freezes hard. If I overwinter them, I try to have them dug before they start growing leaves again in the spring. Once they start growing again, it's too late in my experience. Did you overwinter your carrots, too?

[BubblingBrooks]

Ahhh! Plant them in the fall if you want to do that again! Also, dig them up throughout the winter to enjoy.

[lunarlady]

Yes, I overwintered both parsnips and carrots, as well as a few onions i somehow missed. I guess i should have dug them up once the soil thawed, but that would mean remembering where I planted them. . Ah well, lesson learned.

[Hykue]

If you want to try again, you can let the parsnips at least go to seed this year (if you have room) and plant those seeds next year.  Even if you have seed left over, parsnip seed doesn't keep well, so you'd be better off collecting your own.  I did it last year, and my germination rate this year was great!  Also, I have trouble forgetting my parsnips until after the ground is frozen solid . . . and I tried digging them then . . . and it didn't work.  I'm in zone 1, though.  Just a warning about that.  :)