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. The first year we had extreme heat into November and I couldn’t keep the foliage cool. The second year they grew but there just wasn’t enough root to be a parsnip.
They are something we rarely find in the store here. If I do find them it’s on a trip I’ve made to the city. I am allergic to white potatoes and they make a very good substitute for me.
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