Permapotes

Parsley

Parsley: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar

Parsley, Petroselinum crispum, is an aromatic herb in the carrot family, alongside carrots and coriander. It is best known for its divided green leaves, whose flavour accompanies many dishes. Flat and curly forms belong to the same species while looking different. This description brings together their shared characteristics: a leafy plant, an herbal flavour and a place in the kitchen that goes far beyond simple decoration at the edge of a plate.

Flat leaf parsley has clearly divided leaves that give its foliage a relatively open silhouette. Curly parsley has more closely folded and wavy leaves, creating volume and a finer visual texture. The size of the clumps varies between varieties. These differences allow you to choose according to the flavour you want and the appearance you prefer in a garden or on a plate. The green foliage also contrasts with purple culinary herbs or plants that have broader leaves.

In the kitchen, parsley flavours salads, sauces, soups, vegetables and fish or meat dishes. It commonly accompanies garlic and onions, and belongs in herb combinations where its aroma complements that of other plants. A persillade shows its role in a condiment, while a tabbouleh rich in parsley demonstrates its possible role as a principal ingredient. Its foliage provides both colour and flavour, in fresh preparations as well as cooked dishes. The herb can therefore be central to a recipe rather than merely a finishing garnish.

Parsley is biennial: it normally forms leaves and roots in its first year, then flowering stems, flowers and seeds in the second. The small greenish yellow flowers are grouped in compound umbels, a characteristic of its botanical family. Its silhouette then changes from a leafy clump to a taller, more airy plant. This cycle explains why parsley is not a perennial herb that keeps the same appearance indefinitely, even though its foliage can survive a period of cold weather.

There is also root parsley, selected for its fleshy edible root as well as its leaves. This type serves a different purpose from parsleys grown mainly as culinary herbs. For your choice, the shape of the foliage and intended kitchen use therefore provide important points of reference. The relatively compact habit of leafy forms also gives them appeal along the edge of a vegetable bed or among plants in pots, with green decoration that accompanies their usefulness in the kitchen.

Parsley
Parsley
Characteristics
  • Lifecycle : Biennial
  • Exposure : Partial Shade
  • Frost Hardiness : Frost Resistant
  • Cultivation Difficulty : Easy
  • Mature height : 30 cm
Sowing & Planting
  • Greenhouse crops : Unheated greenhouse
  • 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