Parsley

Parsley is biennial and survives the winter in the lowlands of Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the bed. The foliage dies back in hard frost but sprouts again from the root in spring. In windy or cold spots, cover the roots with a loose, airy layer of straw, leaves or brushwood; move containers to a sheltered house wall or wrap them up, because they freeze through faster than the open bed.

You propagate parsley exclusively by sowing. Vegetative methods (cuttings, division) hardly ever succeed in practice because of the delicate taproot, and the plant forms neither runners nor rhizomes that could be divided. The seeds germinate very slowly (2 to 4 weeks, up to 6 weeks in cool soil), so it helps to soak them in lukewarm water for a few hours or overnight before sowing. This softens the hard seed coat. Sow directly outdoors from mid-March, once the soil has warmed to about 10 to 12 °C, or start the seeds on the windowsill from February/March. Parsley is a dark germinator: press the seeds about 1 cm deep into the soil and cover them well so they get no light. Keep the compost evenly moist throughout germination, without waterlogging. A single spell of drying out can ruin germination. Parsley is biennial: only in the second year (flowering in June/July) does it form seed umbels. Leave a few plants standing for this and harvest the umbels once the seeds have turned from light green through beige to brown. Dry the cut umbels further upside down in an airy place, then rub out the seeds and store them cool, dark and dry. They stay viable for about 2 to 3 years.