Description: Growing Food 35 Floors Above NY Harbor
So did any of my etymologically inclined readers stumble over the title? Yes, you’re right: “harvest” is derived from the old English “ haerfest ,” meaning autumn. So a harvest in April is a contradiction, or perhaps more charitably, a paradox. But, as the pictures below attest, it is nonetheless a real thing.
Parsnips are said by unreliable sources to have been “the favorite” vegetable of the Roman Empire, in part because of its reputation as an aphrodisiac. What is certain is that the wild parsnip, Pastinaca sativa , has sap in its leaves and stems (not the roots) that is highly toxic in the presence of sunlight.
The parsnips pictured above have had quite a journey. They were sown on July 6 of last summer, a hot day with rooftop temperatures in the low 90’s. Turga parsnips ( Pastinaca sativa ‘Turga ’), an heirloom variety originating in Hungary, emerged on schedule in late October. By mid-February an exploratory yank revealed that the roots were developing.