Permapotes

Chervil

Chervil: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar

Chervil is a culinary herb valued for its tender leaves and gentle aniseed fragrance. It is a good choice if you want a subtler flavour than tarragon to accompany eggs, fish or salads. Its delicate character gives it a particular place among kitchen herbs: it can add fragrance to a dish without necessarily overpowering the other ingredients.

Garden chervil has the botanical name Anthriscus cerefolium and belongs to the Apiaceae family, alongside parsley and carrots. Its green leaves are finely divided into small sections that give the plant a light, airy outline. They can resemble parsley, but look more delicate and have a fragrance with an aniseed note. Similar-looking foliage alone is not enough to identify a wild plant, even when it seems familiar.

Chervil is a short-lived plant, usually grown as an annual. Its appearance changes as it develops: the leafy clump gives way to taller flowering stems, often reaching 30 to 60 cm. These carry tiny white flowers in umbels, meaning clusters with several stalks radiating from one point. Flowering is the reproductive stage, followed by the development of elongated fruits containing the seeds. This is a different appearance from the soft leafy herb used in the kitchen.

Common chervil has relatively flat leaves, while curled forms have more wavy foliage. The variety Vertissimo is slower to flower. These differences concern appearance and the pace of development; they do not mean that every form necessarily has a distinct flavour. Heat can hasten flowering, and the eating quality of the leaves generally declines at that stage.

In French cooking, chervil is part of the traditional fines herbes mixture with parsley, chives and tarragon. Its aroma suits omelettes, mild sauces, soups and poultry dishes. It also complements pasta and vegetables. Its fragrance is sensitive to heat, which explains its frequent use in fresh garnishes and delicate dressings rather than as the dominant flavour of a long-cooked dish.

This species provides attractive foliage in a small herb garden and is also suitable for containers. It is distinct from root chervil, valued for its underground root, and from cow parsley, also called wild chervil. Common names can therefore cause confusion. This description concerns garden chervil grown specifically for its aromatic leaves.

Chervil
Chervil
Characteristics
  • Lifecycle : Annual
  • Exposure : Partial Shade
  • Frost Hardiness : Frost Resistant
  • Cultivation Difficulty : Medium
  • Mature height : 30 cm
Sowing & Planting
  • Greenhouse Growing : Not Required
  • Sowing Depth : 0.5 cm
  • Plant Spacing : 10 cm
  • Row Spacing : 20 cm
Maintenance
  • Maintenance : Low
  • Water Requirements : Moderate
Other characteristics
  • Soil Type : Humus-rich
  • Soil pH Preference : Neutral
  • Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
  • Disease Sensitivity : Moderate
  • Weed Sensitivity : Moderate
  • Pollination : Insect-pollinated
  • Propagation : Sowing