The appearance of jaunty, yellow daffodils is one of the first signs of spring. For farmers, their appearance also means it’s time to plant parsnips again, which, like daffodils, do best in soil that's around 40 degrees.

Spring parsnip planting means winter’s parsnips have been harvested and the local greenmarkets can be scoured for the few remaining root vegetables of the season. Spring brings the sweetest parsnips of the year due to frigid winter temperatures and mounds of snow on the ground.