[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Wneighbor : "Let me know about your parsnips please. I have tried them twice here in Texas but concluded our heat is too much for them.
They are an item that my husband misses from his youth in Maine.
I tried them as a fall crop in a healthy deep bed."

I believe you may be right bout it being too hot in Texas since they are a Fall crop.
In moderate New York, they are somewhat difficult to grow since it is in the Fall that the roots grow larger in cooler conditions, and absorb some of the nutrients from their green tops.
Also, when exposed to freezing temperatures , the roots 'sweeten up' and it changes both the texture and the flavor.
Found while internet snooping (may require "raised beds") :
www.experientialgardener.com/2013/12/growing-parsnips-in-texas.html

[Wneighbor]

Apparantly I may get a couple of raised beds built as a birthday gift. I will have to try the parsnips again in there. They will be built on the north side of the property. That side of our land overlooks some Corp of Engineer property adjacent to a lake. Two or three times/year we get a light frost over there when the rest of the land is sheltered. Maybe that will be a parsnip boon.