Parsley (Carum
Petroselinum) will teach those who have eyes exactly how it
should be grown. There will appear here and there in a
garden stray or rogue Parsley plants. No matter how
regularly the hoeing and weeding may be done, a stray
Parsley plant will occasionally appear alone, perhaps in the
midst of Lettuces, or Cauliflowers, or Onions. When these
rogues escape destruction they become superb plants, and the
gardener sometimes leaves them to enjoy the conditions they
have selected, and in which they evidently prosper. The
lesson for the cultivator is, that Parsley should have
plenty of room from the very first; and this lesson, we feel
bound to say, cannot be too often enforced upon young
gardeners, for they are apt to sow Parsley far more thickly
than is wise, and to be injuriously slow and timid in
thinning the crop when the plants are crowding one another.
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Description
Parsley is a hardy biennial that is usually treated as an
annual. It is popular because of its much-divided, sometimes
curly leaves which have a characteristic flavor and smell.
Culture
Cut parsley when the leaves are of suitable size. Leaves can
be used fresh or dried.
Parsley requires an ordinary, good well-worked soil, but a
moist one and a partially-shaded position is best. A little soot
may be added to the soil.
The seed may be sown in drills, or broadcast, or, if only to be
used for culinary purposes, as edging, or between dwarf or
short lived crops.
For a continuous supply, three sowings should be made: as early
in February as the weather permits, in April or early in May,
and in July and early August - the last being for the winter
supply, in a sheltered position, with a southern exposure. Sow
in February for the summer crop and for drying purposes. Seed
sown then, however, takes several weeks to germinate, often as
much as a full month. The principal sowing is generally done in
April; it then germinates more quickly and provides useful
material for cutting throughout the summer. A mid-August sowing
will furnish good plants for placing in the cold frames for
winter use.
Use
Parsley is one of the most familiar of all herbs and
is used for both garnishing and flavoring. It is relatively high
in vitamins A and C and iron.
Parsley leaves can be harvested as soon as the plant is 6
inches tall. Leaves can be refrigerated for use fresh, or they
can be frozen. Both varieties of parsley can be grown indoors as
pot plants on a sunny windowsill. The dark green foliage also
looks nice planted among flowers. Outdoor plants can be potted
in late summer and brought indoors to grow on a cool, sunny
window sill, where they will produce fresh leaves for harvesting
all winter. Dig deeply when potting your plants to get as much
of the long taproot as possible.
"Adapted from publication
NE-208, produced by the Cooperative Extension Services of the
Northeast States."
