Tuesday 12 March 2013

Parsley

We use lots of Parsley in our cooking. I would say that it is probably our most frequently-used herb. It goes so well with so many things. Unfortunately it doesn't grow so well in my garden. It's not for want of trying, because every year I grow some. It just never seems to do very well. I have these visions of being able to go out in the garden any time I like and cut Parsley by the armful, but it never happens. Instead I have to be parsleymonius  parsimonious and cut it sprig by sprig, ekeing it out so that I don't use it all at once. This is what my Parsley normally looks like:-


Last Autumn I planted out some Parsley that I had grown from seed, in the gaps between some Endives, and protected as much of it as possible with some of my plastic bell cloches. This seems to have worked quite well, and despite some very cold weather during the Winter I currently have what is for me a respectable quantity of Parsley available. Most of the Endives have gone now, and I have been tidying things up, cultivating the soil, removing any stray leaves etc and re-distributing the cloches.


I had a surprise when I saw this. It looks like a Parsley plant with some curly leaves and some flat ones.


Closer inspection reveals that it is in fact two plants. But that is still surprising, since it is many years since I have sown any flat-leaf Parsley. Maybe a stray seed crept in amongst the curly-leaf seeds.  Not that I'm complaining since I have decided to try growing the flat-leaf type once more, because it is allegedly more vigorous than the curly type.  This year I plan to have some of each. Here are the same two plants after the tidy-up - almost something to be proud of!


I find that Parsley in my garden often succumbs to the ravages of aphids, usually the horrible grey-coloured ones, which cluster round the stems at soil level and suck the sap out, eventually killing the plant. I don't like to spray against this because we often eat Parsley raw and I'm worried about the harmful effects of chemical pesticides. Parsley (being closely related to the Carrot) is also sometimes attacked by Carrot Root Fly. The tell-tale sign of this is that the leaves turn red - which is in stark contrast with the lush green we expect of this herb.

I admit I am not an expert at Parsley-growing, but I know someone who is... Liz from Suburban Tomato definitely seems to have the knack, so if you want to know the secret of her success, why not explore her blog, on which she has written in the past of having "Oooodles of Parsley"

22 comments:

  1. I grew the curly kind last year and they all died. I've decided that variety won't be grown again. I probably ought to switch back to the flat kind. It is all I grew at my last garden.

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  2. i've just started using a lot of flat-leaf parsley in my cooking recently but have never attempted to grow it... must give it a go!

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  3. Parsley is a great plant; I like that it doesn't mind cold weather outside too much. Your flat leaf and curly makes an interesting plant combo.

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  4. I shall be having a go at growing parsley from seed this year, as it was included in the herb set which I won in a giveaway. I hope it grows well for me.

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  5. I wanted to cut some fresh leaves of an early parsley from my garden but unfortunately my parsley is all covered in snow... again; there's almost nothing to cut.

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  6. I had a fab parsley plant that grew nicely under my Rosemary and Lavender bushes. I'm going to try again this year, but it can be a tricky one!

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  7. I wonder if maybe too much rain is the culprit for parsley? Seems that in the cloche looked lush and green...maybe it was a bit dryer? Just wondering.

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  8. Cat nip is reputed to repel aphids, maybe grow nearby in a separate pot?

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  9. Huh. This is not a hard one for me to grow, but I do have way better luck with the big Italian flat leafed varieties over the curled. My curled parsley never gets that big, and if any of them gets sick, it's always that kind (plus I hate getting the grit out of the leaves when I wash them). My biggest parsley issue is when the chickens escape their fencing (a probably that has occurred 3 times now... stupid Houdini chickens). I just fenced the chickens about a week and a half ago, so my parsley currently looks like nubs.

    I feel like you need more aphid predators. Maybe some beneficial insect attracting flowers nearby?

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  10. Also, "a probably" translates to "a problem." It's getting late, plus I may have had a couple beers. ;)

    What? You don't go discuss parsley with people when you're buzzed?

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  11. Hi, just tried to comment on the bean , Mechelse Tros, one of my favourites too. I cook them lightly, a little butter, yum.
    Best wishes for the growingseason.

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  12. Living about 150km from Liz, my parsley grows fairly prolifically too. I've found it grows much better in the ground or in large pots. It has vigorous roots which I think wouldn't enjoy the constriction of smallish pots. Flat-leafed Italian grows best of all, though!

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  13. Oh you are nice! I agree with Ninaschen about the ground or large pots I think it likes a bit of space to spread its roots.

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  14. Oh you are nice! I agree with Ninaschen about the ground or large pots I think it likes a bit of space to spread its roots.

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  15. We use lots of parsley too. An old wives tale says that parsley grows well for households where the woman wears the trousers

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  16. Parsley seems pernickety. I wish I too could grow it without pests wanting to share/gobble it all. I like the curly kind best. Flat seems more popular at present but doesn't have anywhere near enough taste.

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  17. I think you have described where you might have gone wrong when you say you planted them out in Autumn. As a biennial they like to make a strong root from a sowing in Spring and of course that represents a lot of parsley eating through the summer which with luck continues through the winter. (They can get very sparse in a winter like the last one) You have done the hard bit getting them to germinate. Sorry if I am trying to show grannie how to suck eggs. I know from your blog that you know more about these things than me!

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    1. Hi Roger; yes, in a sense you're right, except that I also planted Parsley on two other occasions, earlier in the year! I only plant it in pots if I can't find enough space elsewhere, so I have tried every which way. I never have a problem getting it to germinate, although it does usually take quite a while.

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  18. When I was little, my mom use to send me outside by the side door, against the fondation of the house to got and cut at the base of the plant, not the root, and every second plant...

    I was a square of dirt surrounded by bricks or rocks or whatever is around, about the size of 8x14 envellope, maybee more, the dirt was always dry, almost like cactus plant dirt and was IN THE SHADE !!! , in rows like radishes / carrots or tulips in my case, never had to plant some anymore, kept growing every year.

    Tried it last summer to plant some at my house, she told me to plant in the shade and in rows and when you need some, cut with scissors every other plant, this is what i did, worked fine, didn't have a whole flush of it, but mom told me not to worry, that it will spread every year.

    Ho yeah, said to plant a ciboulette (chive) besides it (corner of the plantation) wich i did !
    We are now in march, won't know until spring, about may or june around here...
    Hopefully will remember to send you a picture if anything comes out
    ps: when you plant in rows - not to close from each other- 3 fingers apart-

    regine


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  19. Interesting. I prefer the flat leaf and how I wish it would over winter here!

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  20. I grew curly parsley last year (first year growing veg). Rather enthusistically I sowed the whole packet! I made a row about 7 feet long. The soil is very chalky and had quite a lot of MP compost mixed into it. I watered it a bit at the start and then in took off like a rocket. Not realising that it would last the winter I dug it up in the autumn and had to take 2 full bin bags of it to the tip :-( It did hav a lot of roots though, so I second (third) the comment about growing it in the ground not in a pot.

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