Parsley

Petroselinum crispum

Curly or flat, parsley lives for two years, but you only grow it for one. In its second year it flowers and the leaves get worse, so sow fresh seed every year. The seed is slow. Outdoors it can take up to six weeks to come up, so mark the row and keep it moist.

Looking after it

Water: It needs normal watering. Keep the soil moist but never soggy, especially while the seedlings are small and in hot, dry spells. Pots dry out quickly. In summer heat, move them into light shade. Feeding: Parsley needs little feeding. In the ground it needs none. In a pot, give a balanced liquid feed every few weeks while it is growing.

Picking and keeping

Cut a few of the outer stems at the base and leave the middle to keep growing. If you pick regularly, new leaves keep coming from late spring to autumn. Stand a bunch in water in the fridge and it keeps for several days. Chopped leaves freeze well in ice cube trays. They keep more flavour than dried parsley.

What can go wrong

Carrot fly. The plants turn reddish, wilt and stop growing, because small maggots are tunnelling into the roots. Cover the bed with fine insect mesh from the day you sow.
Celery leaf miner. You see pale brown blisters on the leaves, where tiny grubs feed inside. Pick off those leaves and bin them. The plant will grow new ones.
Slow to come up. Nothing shows for weeks and people often dig the row over by mistake. Soak the seed overnight before sowing. Keep the soil moist and give it up to six weeks.

Growing facts: RHS, UC ANR and seed-company sowing guides. Parsley care: RHS. pH: Cornell and University of Maryland extension.