How to Grow Parsleysubmitted on 27 July 2012
Parsley, which is a biennial plant and member of the carrot family, is the most widely grown herb in Europe and certainly the most widely used. It develops a clump of leaves and a spindly white tap root in its first year and a tall, flowering stalk in its second.
Though parsley is frost-hardy, the curliest varieties have a tendency to succumb to the winter wet, as their leaves hold onto water. Flat leafed parsley has a stronger flavour than the curly kind and it is also more weather resistant.
Parsley, like other umbelliferous herbs, makes a good companion plant, as it's flowers attract predatory insects and its scent masks that of nearby plants from pests.
SITE
Parsley prefers a moist, well-drained, fertile, neutral to alkaline soil, and a sunny or slightly shaded position. It can be grown quite well in a deep pot or container.
PROPAGATION
Sow seed under cover in early spring or outdooors in late spring. It can also be sown indoors or outdoors in mid summer.
Germination can be hard but is helped by soaking the seed in warm water overnight, keeping the soil moist and ensuring a constant temperature.
CROP CARE
The plants are prone to slug attack and need protection from carrot fly. Keep them well watered in summer. To keep a winter supply of leaves, pot up a couple of plants
and bring indoors, or put a cloche over outdoor plants. In the second spring, remove flower stalks to prolong leaf production until the new year's plants are ready.
HARVESTING
Pick the fresh leaves as required throughout the growing season, and pick leaves for drying or freezing during the plant's first summer.
|
