Grow Your Own Parsley

Parsley is one of my favorite herbs to grow at home. It's an incredibly low-maintenance herb that doesn't take up much space in the garden but will give you harvest after nutritious harvest.

Parsley is a member of the carrot family, or Apiaceae family, which is best known for its namesake, of course: the carrot. If you know a little bit about how carrots grow, then you're already well on your way to understanding parsley and its cousins like dill, cilantro, fennel, and cumin.

If you keep parsley around long enough, you'll eventually get parsley flowers, which are beloved by pollinators, especially black swallowtail butterfly caterpillars.

Is parsley a perennial?

Parsley is actually a biennial, so with optimal weather conditions, it can remain in the garden for two years before producing seeds (though I've actually managed to keep parsley alive for up to three years). When you’re pulling your cilantro and dill plants for the season, be careful not to pull your parsley unless it’s clear that it’s dried up or gone to seed.

Extreme cold will kill parsley, so it's typically grown as an annual herb in most places. Annual herbs, like the other herbs in the carrot family, grow from seed to seed in one season.

Toward the end of its life cycle or when the weather warms too quickly, parsley will bolt, or produce a thick center stem and a set of flowers (in a formation that resembles an umbrella). The flowers will eventually dry and become seed for next year’s plants. What's not to love about free plants?

Types of Parsley

Did you know there are two different parsley types?

There's regular, or curly, parsley, which is often used as a garnish. I love adding curly parsley to salads for a little additional crunch.

Then there's Italian parsley, also known as flat-leaf parsley. Because it's got a stronger flavor and scent, Italian parsley is often used in cooking or tossed onto a meal as a finishing touch.

You'll grow these two types the same way in your garden (and I highly recommend growing both!).

When to Plant Parsley

Like carrots, parsley thrives in cool weather. Its ideal temperature range is between 40°F and 75°F. In temperate climates, parsley can survive winter and continue growing into the spring.

Parsley seeds germinate best when started in cooler temperatures. Sow your seeds in the spring as soon as the soil can be worked, even if there’s still a slight chance of frost. Most gardeners recommend sowing parsley seeds about 3 to 4 weeks before your last frost date of the season so you'll have plenty of time to grow this herb under its preferred cool conditions.

Where to Grow Parsley

Picture the root of a carrot or parsnip. Parsley grows a similar taproot, so it needs a little more room to stretch down than herbs like thyme, sage, or oregano. The longer parsley remains in the garden, the bigger its carrot-like taproot will grow. Back when I lived in Houston and had milder winters, I harvested an entire parsley plant that had been in the garden for a year and a half. The root structure was nearly 12 inches long! 

Parsley is a great herb to grow in the center or corners of a raised garden bed, though keep in mind that it can grow fairly tall. Raised beds ensure that parsley's roots have nice, loose soil to push down into.

You can still grow parsley in a container or pot, but look for something at least one foot deep. Fill your container with sandy, well-draining soil rich in organic matter.

Parsley is the perfect herb to grow in lower-light spots of your landscape. While it likes sun, it really only needs 4 or more hours of light to grow.

How to Grow Parsley from Seed

Parsley is a great candidate for direct seeding in the garden. The seeds are fairly easy to handle, and plants grown from seed will outperform those plants that are brought in from the nursery thanks to the delicate taproot, which doesn't like to be transplanted.

This is an herb that grows taller than it does wide and can be planted 4 to 6 per square foot. That means you can fit a lot of parsley plants into the same space where you'd only be able to grow one rosemary or oregano plant. If you do plant parsley this close together though, be ready with your scissors. The top of the plant will start to spread out and produce loads of flavorful leaves. You'll need to harvest frequently.

Planting Steps

Before sowing parsley seeds, add a fresh layer of compost to the planting area. Parsley seeds have a fairly low germination rate, so some gardeners soak their seeds overnight before sowing them to boost their chances of success.

Sow seeds about 1/4 inch deep and give them a good watering in. Make sure to keep the soil moist while you're waiting on seeds to germinate. Parsley typically takes between 2 and 4 weeks to sprout.

You also have the option of starting parsley by seed indoors, though you'll have to take extra care when you're transplanting seedlings thanks to the delicate parsley root. I recommend using biodegradable pots instead of seed starting trays so that you can plant the pot in the garden and minimize root disturbance. Start your seeds about 6 to 8 weeks before you final frost date.

The Best Parsley Companion Plants

Parsley is a great plant to grow for the overall health of your garden space. That's because when it flowers, it attracts pollinators like bees, butterflies, and ladybugs, plus a number of other beneficial insects. 

I like to grow parsley next to my fruiting plants. In the cool season, I'll plant it near things like peas and fava beans; in the warm season, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, squash, zucchini, watermelons, and strawberries. Parsley is also perfectly happy to grow next to its cousins, cilantro and dill, or any of our perennial herbs.

How to Care for Parsley Plants

Parsley prefers to be watered more often than herbs like oregano and rosemary. Use the one-inch-per-week rule. During the hottest months of summer, check on the soil's moisture level frequently. You'll need to water more often so the soil doesn't completely dry out. If you're growing your parsley plant in a container, consider moving it to a more shaded area.

Parsley plants are not typically affected by pests or disease, which is a huge plus.

I rarely add fertilizer to my herb garden. Instead, I add a layer of compost before planting and then add more compost and a little addition of earthworm castings around the base of the plant every 3 or so months. I've found that herbs like parsley grow really well when set up with soil full of nutrients from the beginning. If you think your plant needs extra nutrients, add an organic fertilizer high in nitrogen when watering or spritz some liquid fertilizer on the leaves.

How to Harvest & Enjoy Parsley

Parsley takes about 45 to 60 days to grow from seed when planted directly in the garden before its soft stems have grown strong enough to harvest. It should, at this point, have 5 to 10 main stems.

Use the same technique you'd use to harvest lettuce leaves or other cut-and-come-again herbs to harvest parsley. Grab a clean pair of pruners or scissors and start with the lower leaves from the outside of the plant. Cut at the base of the plant to include the stem (instead of just cutting the leaves) in order to stimulate more growth from the center of the plant. Don't harvest more than 1/3 of the plant at a time. Harvest weekly (or every other week after a big harvest) to encourage your plant to keep producing.

If your herb is beginning to bolt, you can still harvest and eat the leaves. The flowers are edible, but I like to leave them in the garden as a little gift to the bees and butterflies.

Parsley wilts quickly, so place the stems in some fresh water as soon as you harvest them and bring them inside. You can keep them in the fridge like this for a couple of days. Parsley and cilantro don't dry well, so I recommend preserving their leaves in oil in the freezer or freezing the leaves whole.

Grow at least one, if not two, parsley plants per person in your family to enjoy enough fresh harvests of leaves and store more leaves in the freezer to last all winter. That's how you ditch the grocery store herbs for good!

Parsley can be used in many different recipes or even as a pretty little garnish. It's a great addition to homemade salad dressings, sauces, salads, and soups. I love sprinkling fresh parsley leaves onto sea food, especially fish, once it's cooked. Try replacing an extra dash of salt with parsley instead and see if your taste buds are still appeased. I bet so, and you'll be getting iron and vitamins A and C, all while limiting your salt intake.

Time to Grow Some Parsley

I hope you enjoy growing this wonderful little herb. Thanks for helping me make gardening an ordinary part of life again!