Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-19
PARSNIPS AND VEGETABLE OYSTER
FINE CROPS FOR WINTER KEEPING.
LongSeason Crops and Cannot Be Followed With Other
Vegetables in Row-Aford Variety During Cold
Weather-Improved by Freezing-How to Store
By JOHN BARTRAM

The home gardener should not neglect
to make provisions for producing vegetables
for winter use These can be put in new
ground or can follow some Of the early
crops such as peas Pavsnips and satisfy
are among the most satisfactory to grow
aud easy to keep, according to the National
Emergency Food Garden Commission
CULTURE OF PARsNIPs
Parsnips need a long season to mature
The autumn rains mature them rapidly, and
they are ready for use from November on.
From then until spring the parsnps can be
taken from the garden. The hard freezing
Of winter only improves the flavor
Plant only fresh seed. as parsnip seed
two years or older is likely TO have lost It's
fertility Soil should be deeply prepared ;
II hard or lumpy the roots will become
"branchy" or deformed
Sow a half ounce Of seed to 100 feet Of
row, making rows eighteen inches apart
Good varieties are Hollow Grown and
Student
Seed is slow to sprout and therefore It
is well to mix quick growing radish seed or
cabbage seed In with the parsnns 10 break
the crust Of the ground and mark the row
FOR early cultivation. often the success Of
the crop will depend upon breaking the soil
with a rake after the planting, especially If
rains form a dirt crust.
1t is important that the thinning (to one
plant every two or three inches) be done
while the plants are small because II Is
hard to pull seedlings out when they are
large.
While parsnips safely may be left in the
| ground all winter without being affected by
| frost, in northern climates II Is better 70
| harvest them late in the fall and store them
| In go ardeu pits covered with earth Pulling
| or spading them out Of frozen ground is
| almost impossible. The best gathering
method Is 10 dig trenches on both sides of
| the rows and then pull the plants out
Roots not used by spring should be lifted
| anyhow in the second season old plants
| become weedlle.
CULTURE OF Satisfy
Like parsnips satisfy or vegetable oyster,
| as II is usually called on account Of its
| flavor resembling the succulent bivalve, is
| improved by freezing. Roots may be safely
| left in the ground all winter. Like the
| parsnip, too, satisfy is an all-season crop
| which cannot be followed in the garden by
a second or succession crop. Mammoth
/ Sandwich Island is a very satisfactory va
| riety Satisfy also is like parsnlp In that
| or even drought. although growth is re-
tarded at such times Satisfy grows slowly
throughout the entire season and is ready
for use late In the fall. From then OF
until spring it affords a steady supply OF
food. 1t Is "A root which deserves wider
planting, on account of the distinctive
Oyster-like flavor Of this vegetable.
The seeds are large, long and hard, like
sticks. Most Of them are fertile, so that
i'm planting satisfy il is not necessary c
overplant in order to allow for seeds thai
will not sprout This fact too, does awat
with the necessity OF thinning out the rows
Plant half an inch deep wherever you wan
plants to come up. Plants every two to fouI
inches are at the correct intervals, accord
ing to richness of soil DO not thin out
one ounce of seed will plant 100 feet o
| row.
As in the case Of parsnips the soil should
be deeply broken up, so that the main root
will not split or branch. The plant put
out numerous side roots, so that when /
attains any size it becomes firmly fixed n
the ground.
Harvest the roots by trenching on bot
sides Of the row and pulling out the plant
, | by their tops Where the ground freeze
SO hard that digging is impossible in winte
the roots should be put in pit dug in th
garden and covered with soil with stray
or litter and old carpets and bags throw
over to keep the ground workable Root
left to grow the second season are apt {
| become weeds.
Both parsnips and satisfy can be KEEP
for winter use packed I'm conveniently sizet
boxes in sand or dry dirt. Boxes can bi
kept in any dry, cool, dark placc-a goo
| cellar, for instance.