Learning how to grow parsley from seed means you'll have ready access to this versatile herb almost year-round. Named 2021’s Herb of the Year by the International Herb Association, parsley is one of the most recognizable of herbs. If you’ve been to a
restaurant, you’ve probably been served curly parsley as a garnish. However, parsley is much more than a garnish and it can be an important herb to grow if
you’re selling herbs and produce for profit.
Starting Parsley from Seed
Over time and use herbs, such as parsley, have
gathered lore that’s passed from generation to generation. It
is said that parsley is the property of the devil and it travels to him seven
times before it can grow. This
lore most likely sprung up because parsley takes a long time to germinate. At
Turner Farm,
Biennial
Life Cycle
Parsley is a biennial plant, meaning it grows
during its first season then flowers and dies back in its second season. Turner
Farm manages parsley as an annual and puts in new plants each season.
“Once
the plant is putting its energy into producing seeds, the seed stalk it sends
out is really thick and tough and woody. It’s putting its energy into producing
seeds so it’s not putting nearly as much effort into growing these smaller
vegetative leaf stalks that we would be harvesting. At that point, because we
want to keep harvesting a consistent quality and quantity, we will put in new
plants,” said Lundrigan.
Harvesting
Parsley is a member of the Umbelliferae family
along with celery, carrots, cilantro, anise and fennel. It has a basal plate — a
central growth point where leaves are grown. At Turner Farm, parsley is
harvested with this basal plate in mind.
“We
harvest parsley from the outside of the plant. The largest, oldest stems are
going to be on the outside of the plant. That’s how we harvest off of it for so
long. We always want to leave that central growth point intact so that it keeps
growing new shoots,” said Lundrigan. “Celery is in the same family and is maybe
a better visual example. Celery has those outer stalks and then that inner
heart. If you think of parsley the same way, we want to keep the center part
always producing new shoots so we are harvesting those outer stalks. When we
harvest celery, we do the same thing.”
Cold-Hardiness
Parsley can be the backbone of a
working garden because it grows well into the cold weather. At Turner Farm in
planting zone six, parsley thrives under winter row covers. July curly parsley
plantings are harvested well into March/April and flat-leaf plantings last into
December/January.
“I
honestly remember times I would go to look under the row cover and expect the
parsley to be dead and it just didn’t look like it knew anything was going on,”
said Lundrigan.
“We had this one bed that had fall and winter crops in it and the field was pretty
much full of turnips and watermelon radishes. I remember harvesting everything
around the parsley and the parsley was this one lone strip that remained after
everything else was gone.”
Customer
Popularity
At Turner Farm, parsley is gathered
by bunches to be added to CSA shares and sold at an on-site farm market and
local farmers' markets. Bunches
sell, depending on size, for $1 to $2. This equals about $1 an ounce/$16 per
pound. A typical grocery store bunch is about this size. Turner Farm also sells
parsley to restaurants in half to one-pound increments.
While
both are offered, flat-leaf sells much better than curly parsley. Lundrigan
says curly is grown because it is more cold-hardy than the flat-leaf so they
can be sure to have it as an offering for a longer time.
“For some reason, flat-leaf is so much more popular than the curly. I’m not sure why,”
she said. “I like the curly for things like Tabouli or if I’m putting it in
something fresh like a salad. I think it’s a little sturdier or crunchier it
just has a little bit more texture than the flat-leaf. I think they taste the
same. I’m not sure why there’s this prejudice against the curly.”
Butterfly
Host Plant
Parsley is a host plant for black
swallowtail butterfly caterpillars. Many people actually call them parsley
caterpillars.
“We
try not to squish those guys when they’re eating our parsley or fennel or
anything in that family,” said Lundrigan.
When
planting parsley, be sure to leave enough for the caterpillars!
This article about how to grow parsley from seed was originally published in The New Pioneer magazine.
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