Parsley

Plant Characteristics
Habit		herbaceous
Height:	⇕	6 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 6. to 12 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 12.
Lifespan:	⌛	biennial

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun, part-sun
Water:	◍	moist, moderate
USDA Zones:		1 to 11
Sunset Zones:		all zones

Scientific Names
Apiaceae >	Petroselinum >	crispum >

Read about Parsley in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Parsley (Petroselinum hortense, which see). A leaf vegetable, used for garnishing and flavoring. While indispensable in the market-garden, parsley is not usually found in the home-gardens in this country. The addition of a bit of parsley foliage, finely chopped heightens the flavor of soups, fish, and the like. The principal use of this vegetable, however, is for garnishing meats and fish and other dishes, and for this purpose it seems to be the vegetable par excellence, equally desirable in the home as on the hotel table. A very few plants of parsley will suffice for the home- garden, and any spot of good soil will do for starting them from seed. Sow as early in spring as practicable, either in an early hotbed or coldframe, or in open ground. Parsley seed germinates somewhat slowly, and the plants are feeble at first. In open ground, early sowing aids the plants to get ahead of the weeds. In larger patches the rows should be a foot apart, and seed sown rather thinly in shallow drills. Thin the plants to stand 4 to 8 inches apart, and cultivate same as carrots. Gather the leaves as needed. For use in winter and early spring, start plants in open ground in early fall, and on the approach of cold weather set them in a corner of the greenhouse bench, or in a box or keg filled with rich loam placed in a light kitchen or cellar window. Old roots, if still vigorous, may be lifted in autumn and treated the same as seedlings. Parsley will stand considerable frost. Although biennial or perennial, a new stock should be started every year. The plants usually bear better if the leaves are removed a few at a tune rather than to have the entire crown cut at once. When the plant is a year old (sooner or later), it throws up seed-stalks, and produces seed in abundance, even under glass protection. By keeping the seed-stalks closely cut out, the season of leaf-yield may be prolonged for a time. Seed is easily gathered and cleaned. The varietal differences lie chiefly in the foliage, which in some sorts is rather coarse, as in the Plain or Common, or more finely divided, as in the Curled, Double Curled, Moss Curled, and Fern-leaved.^CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.