Tony Fawcett’s guide to growing parsley
Parsley is one of the most valuable herbs in cooking, and even though easily grown, is often overlooked.
MY WIFE is a fabulous parsley grower, and I never let her forget it.
At least once a year I remind her of the fact, yet she’s not the least impressed by such high praise.
You see, she knows why I’m singing her praises.
Both she and I are aware of the old wives’ tale that only evil or pregnant women grow the best parsley.
I know she tires of my good-natured jibes, yet I can’t resist because they inevitably get a reaction.
Truthfully, I don’t believe growing parsley is the least bit difficult, despite many insisting otherwise. It’s just a case of understanding the plant.
Most parsleys are biennials, meaning they produce leaves in the first year and go to seed the second year. Chopping off seeding stalks is important, yet leaving just a few to allow self-seeding and continuing crops is equally import.
In some ways, parsley is the lazy gardener’s perfect plant. Give it a part sun/part shade spot with reasonably rich soil that consistently retains some moisture, yet drains well, and it’s perfectly happy.
I don’t know how any serious gardener can live without self-grown parsley. It’s by far our most used herb, even claimed by some to contain more vitamin C than oranges. It adds turbocharged freshness sprinkled on pastas, soups and meat dishes and, for culinary heaven, chop it with cracked wheat, tomatoes, mint, lemon juice, a little onion and olive oil in a Middle Eastern tabouli.
I’ve never tried them (it’s on my to-do list) yet many insist the aromatic roots of one variety of parsley are winners when boiled, steamed, puréed or creamed, with a combined taste reminiscent of parsley, celeriac and carrot.
When COVID-19 shortages hit our garden centres, I was appalled that plants of this wonderful herb were practically the only ones left on vegetable shelves. I saw it as a put-down for one of the kitchen garden’s most valuable plants. I hope it was because everyone already had their parsley patch.
If you don’t have yours, get going before autumn finishes.
Seeds are fine, yet at this stage I would opt for a few plants. Plant them in a frost-protected spot and water in. Continue watering over dry periods, but avoid over-watering.
We grow flat-leaf or Italian parsley (Petroselinum crispum neapolitanum), a little more flavoursome, and curly leaf (Petroselinum crispum), yet both are to be treasured. There are other parsleys, but none match these two for flavour.
Flat-leaf parsley copes well in full sun, while curly-leaf prefers a part-shade spot. Both are ideal for pot growing, and curly-leaf makes a lush ornamental border around a flowerbed. Winter frosts and cold can knock all parsleys, but generally they bounce back well come spring.
So go to it all you evil women — and others too.
VIRUS GETS GARDENERS GROWING
IF YOUR gardening has gone up a notch during the lockdowns, you are not alone.
A survey by gardening products company Richgro shows three-quarters of people surveyed are spending more time in the garden than they did in pre-social distancing days.
A massive 98 per cent spend time in the garden because it improves their mood, and 57 per cent are growing more fruit and vegetables than they did this time last year.
WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK
PLANT vegies such as artichoke (jerusalem), broad beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, chives, garlic, lettuce, mizuna, mustard greens, parsley, peas, radish, silverbeet, snow peas and spinach.
GET in seedlings of calendulas, cinerarias, cornflowers, erigeron, forget-me-nots, helichrysums, impatiens, nemesia, nigella, phlox, poppies, primulas, statice and Virginian stocks.
ORDER bare-root roses and fruit trees for planting over winter.
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