Root vegetables
Hamburg parsley
Petroselinum crispum subsp. tuberosum
Timings for your region
Suggested: Moderate · Explained in the glossary
Sow outdoorsmid March – mid May
Harvestmid September – late November
Practical tip
As slow to germinate as carrot. The leaves work like parsley, so one row crops twice.
Origin & history
Hamburg parsley is a selection of ordinary parsley, which comes from the eastern Mediterranean; the thick-rooted form was bred in Central and Eastern Europe and has long been a fixture of the soup pot in Germany, Poland and Hungary. The English name recalls that it reached Britain in the 18th century through the Hamburg trade. On a market stall it is regularly mistaken for parsnip — Hamburg parsley is slimmer, tapers to a sharper point and smells distinctly of parsley where the leaves join the root.
Varieties
Make sure the packet says root or turnip-rooted parsley — leaf parsley, flat or curly, will not make a usable root. The choice of varieties is small: “Halblange” and “Berliner Halblang” are the standard and manage on heavier soil too, while longer varieties such as “Arat” or “Oliver” are only worth it in deep, stone-free ground. As with all umbellifers the seed loses viability quickly, so buy small quantities and throw out leftovers after two years.
Care
Thin to 8 cm as soon as you can make out the row reliably and keep it weed-free early on; the seedlings stay tiny for weeks. Go easy when picking the leaves: never take more than a third at a time or the root stays thin. Feed sparingly with nitrogen — lush foliage comes at the expense of the root — and in dry spells water deeply rather than superficially.
What can go wrong
Parsley does not tolerate itself: grown after parsley, carrot, celeriac or parsnip the plants sulk and rot at the root (“parsley sickness”). A four- to five-year break on the same ground is not a precaution here but the actual solution. In wet summers brown leaf spots appear; generous spacing, morning watering at the base rather than over the foliage, and removing badly affected leaves keep it within bounds. Carrot fly goes for this root too — the same netting as for carrots helps.
Harvest, storage & kitchen
Harvest from mid-September, when the root is 3–4 cm across; loosen it carefully with a fork, as it breaks easily. For storage lift it before the ground freezes through and pack it in damp sand in a cool cellar; in mild areas a few can be left standing under a layer of leaves. The flavour is markedly stronger than carrot or parsnip — one root is enough to flavour a large pot of soup. The leaves are coarser and more pungent than leaf parsley and suit cooking in a dish better than scattering over it.
All timings are guide values for the given climate, not a guarantee. Weather, aspect and variety all have a say.