What are my parsnips trying to say?

I've got self seeded parsnip by the thousand!

Trouble is they're coming up, not in the prepared garden bed, nor the area where the parsnip went to seed over the last two years, but the path in between which is compacted and unimproved meadow grass!

What does that mean?

Well I know they're not the same family, but I am reminded of Mustard Island in Shanleya's Quest where the guardian of the island is "out there with a shovel, working feverishly to turn over the soil"

I wonder if you parsnip babies are telling you the soil is too compacted there and they want to loosen it up for you?