How to grow Parsley

Petroselinum crispum · flat-leaf parsley, curly parsley

A hardy biennial grown as an annual for its leaves, which are best in the first year; it flowers in the second. It grows best in cool summers.

Quick facts

Type	Herb
Family	Apiaceae
Light	Partial shade
Soil pH	6–7
Frost	tolerates light frost
Soil for sowing	from 10 °C
Germination	21 days
Seedlings ready	42 days
Sowing to harvest	55 days
Where it grows	Greenhouse, Open ground, At home

When to plant

Sow for seedlings about 9 weeks before planting out.

It tolerates light frost: plant out in open ground about three weeks before your last spring frost.

In an unheated greenhouse everything moves about three weeks earlier.

The first harvest comes about 55 days after the shoots appear.

Frost dates · When to plant

Care

Greenhouse

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 2 days	18…21 °C	—
Seedlings	every 2 days	—	—
Growth	every 3 days	—	balanced (NPK), at the start of the stage; balanced (NPK), 28 days into the stage
Harvest	every 3 days	—	—

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 3 days	—	—
Seedlings	every 3 days	—	—
Growth	every 4 days	—	balanced (NPK), at the start of the stage; balanced (NPK), 28 days into the stage
Harvest	every 4 days	—	—

At home

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 2 days	18…21 °C	—
Seedlings	every 2 days	—	—
Growth	every 2 days	—	balanced (NPK), at the start of the stage; balanced (NPK), 21 days into the stage
Harvest	every 2 days	—	—

Growing notes

Light

Full sun or partial shade.

Soil

Fertile, moist but well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter, pH 6–7.

Care

Seed is slow to come up, often three weeks or more; soaking it overnight helps. Parsley has a taproot and dislikes transplanting, so sow in cells or straight where it will grow. Keep the soil evenly moist. Feed twice during the season, pot-grown plants every few weeks. Cut the outer stalks at the base first so new leaves keep coming from the centre.

Pests and diseases of Parsley

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.