According to my Louisiana State University Gardening Guide, rutabagas are planted here in July or August, take approximately 90 days to mature, and are harvested in fall before our first killing frost. From this, I think it's safe to surmise that they don't mind hot weather. I have my seed to plant them for the first time this coming summer. If farmerdilla appears in this thread, I bet he'll know the definitive answer to your question.

Parsnips, on the other hand, aren't even listed, which doesn't give me much hope for growing them in the south. (I am going to try anyway. :)

Here in Michigan, you can plant rutabagas and parsnips basically anytime between mid-late April and early June. The sooner you plant them, the bigger they'll get. If you plant after about mid-June, you'll get small "baby" sized ones by fall, still edible but not nearly as big as they could have been. Since neither of those crops suffer any decline in quality as size increases, there isn't really much of a benefit to having "baby" ones, IMO, unless you want them for presentation purposes, such as a chef at an upscale restaurant might do.

Neither rutabagas nor parsnips will be the least bit bothered by any kind of heat Michigan can throw at them, even in the hottest years, as long as they get adequate water.

I personally think I've had the nicest rutabagas and parsnips when I've gotten them planted around the time the daffodils are blooming, which is late April to early May here in the Detroit area, probably a week or two later up where you are near Traverse City.

Both rutabagas and parsnips are biennials. They don't go to seed until their second year. So there is no problem with bolting. I plant rutabagas in early July, although I have seen others planting them in early June. The roots of mine don't size up until cool fall weather.. Weather remains mild here well into November. I harvest them around Thanksgiving. They survive frost.

Jim

I've never had much luck with rutabaga, but I've not tried that early, thanks Donnabaskets! That's good information.
I dislike parsnips (with a passion) however, they grow like carrots, I've grown them at church before just to try them. Planted in early Sept. and were eaten all winter however I did cover them in a frost below 30, just with a box or a basket. They kept fine in the ground.

I don't care for parsnips either. When I was a kid they were dead of winter starvation food. I have not been hungry enough to eat them since. As for rutabagas, they do not like heat ( triple digits) less than that they are fine. I would suspect that would plant the early in Michigan. Maybe 100 days before the ground begins to freeze. Here I plant them in August for January harvest. Don't get bumper crops like you should in the north, but enough for me.
{{gwi:30440}} {{gwi:30441}}

Well I'm wondering if I can plant anything right now or if it's too early. I mean cold weather actually improves the flavors of parsnips and rutabagas, so could I plant them now?

I also have some onion sets I just bought (red and yellow)
and I'm wondering if I can plant them now? The reason I ask is because it does say on the back of the package they can be started in March.

Most people say "you can plant them as soon as the soil can be worked". However this is if you plant stuff in the ground.

Whether the soil can be worked or not doesn't come into play for me with planting, because I do container gardening.

What determines whether I can plant or not is if the weather is stable enough and warm enough to plant stuff.
The warm days (40 degrees or above) are more frequent, and it's sunnier more often; you can see the grass, and it doesn't snow as much, when it does, it's lighter.

I also wanted to know if it would be feasible to start some stuff like peas, and leafy green things (lettuce, pak choi, mustard greens, and mizuna, which is a Japanese green) or is it still too early? I have a bit more of an idea to go by with pak choi (baby bok choi, which is Chinese cabbage) and lettuce because I grew them last year. However I grew them in April, not this early.

If it's possible to grow some stuff now I will, but is it too risky? The way I'd be able to protect them is bringing them into the shed, bringing them indoors just isn't an option. Would they be protected enough in a garden shed (although it's outdoors) if temperatures drop too low?

The only reason I'm debating growing stuff now is because the growing season here is very short. The earlier stuff can be started the better.

You could go ahead and sow seeds of certain things now -- freeze thaw cycles won't hurt them. This basically would be the most cold-hardy crops -- spinach, lettuce, orach, kale/collards, probably onions, most of the Asian greens. This is basically the technique known as "winter sowing" -- the seeds sit dormant until the temperatures rise enough to promote germination, which should be at the end of March and into April up in your neck of the big mitten.

Since a light frost improves the flavor of kale, will it germinate at this time of year?

Also would it be feasible to sow seeds for root veggies, or are they just not hardy enough to plant this time of year?

By root veggies I mean carrots, kohlrabi, turnip, asian radishes, and gold beets.

I know this is off-topic, but most greens I know of don't like hot weather at all. However if I plant cabbage later (say middle-to-late April) will I have worry about it bolting on me in the hot months or is it something where heat doesn't bother it?

I grow Gilfeather Rutabaga by starting seeds indoors. I transplant plant out as soon as possible and allow to grow all summer in zone 5. I harvest last. The leaves are super and the bulb is tender no matter how big they get. And mine get huge. Don't worry with Gilfeather.

I get the seeds from Fedco.

Last summer half the middle of the summer was extremely dry. They did fine.

They also keep easy indoors for the winter.

This is probably the best veggie to grow. Try it and you will like it. very nice mild flavor. flesh is white. nice and clean.

Make sure you also eat the leaves and I clean the stem and eat that also.

I grew the Gilfeather turnips last year. They never got very large at all. I was disappointed in them, and found them to be very "hairy" in the roots. I wish they had turned out like yours, gardendawgie!!

kawaiineko_gardener, I think it's very early for you yet. You are still going to have hard frosts. This is just the time that we here in zone 7b/8a are beginning to plant those plants.

According to a seed company that is local within an hour away to my house, we're supposed to direct seed Rutabaga at the end of June, maybe like last week of June. It's crazy to think :)

I'm guessing we're supposed to be picking them in mid September or at latest around Canadian Thanksgiving... although that would be pushing it I would think. I live in South Coast BC.

"Since a light frost improves the flavor of kale, will it germinate at this time of year?"

Vegetables whose flavor is improved by a frost are improved by a frost at the end of the growing season after they have finished growing. It has nothing to do with germination or early growth.

Jim

This turned out to be a very informational thread! farmerdilla, have you ever tried planting rutabagas in spring? I wonder if I planted them in late April how they would fare? They should be ready for harvest by late July. Or do they do better with continually declining temps rather than continually increasing temps?

never even considered it. The rutabaga is from northern Europe. June and July here are hot and dry ( we have a bout 30 days of triple digit temps). not conducive to most brassicas, especially rutabagas.

'The rutabaga is from northern Europe..' Yes, in the UK they are sown May/June left in the ground and pulled throughout the winter, starting in November and going on until March. They are classic winter eating like parsnips. They take 20 - 26 weeks to mature, ie a long time, so a very hot summer followed by a very cold winter would not suit them.

Farmerdilla,

Do the rutabaga's have any trouble with germination in the heat of August? Do you do anything special or just direct sow and monitor watering? Also, I'm assuming early August since they take so long to mature?

Thanks,
Susan

In my case, it is usually late August before the soil is cool enough for germination. I usually plant if a hurricane is approaching the vicinity. a few cloudy wet days does wonders. Other wise I try to plant them in the shade, like on the shady side of pole butterbeans.

Mine, planted early July, make a large part of their growth in September and October. Fall weather here on the southern New England coast is fairly warm right into November though. I don't know if they would put on much fall growth during the colder fall weather of inland locations.

Jim

Donna, did you have success with the rutabagas? I tried once a few years ago, but didn't have luck. Seems like I remember planting in mid August.