Growing Parsley Outdoors: The Complete Guide

The article describes the cultivation of parsley in the open field: how to grow leafy parsley from seeds, how to plant at different times of the year, the rules of care.

It is difficult to imagine a vegetable garden in which greens would not be grown, and parsley has long been considered one of the most popular types of greens in our summer cottages. And this is far from an accidental fact, because parsley is just a storehouse of all kinds of vitamins and minerals, it contains bioflavonoids and essential oils. This is a real first aid kit in your garden. In addition, you can eat parsley from your garden already from early spring to late autumn. It is perfectly stored and can be harvested for future use, and even a novice summer resident can master all the agrotechnical techniques associated with its cultivation.

Growing parsley outdoors: the benefits of parsley

Growing parsley outdoors

Parsley is a guest from the Mediterranean, belonging to the umbrella family, where its closest relatives are coriander, celery and carrots. Due to the huge number of useful properties and original taste, parsley is grown almost all over the world. In order to experience all the beneficial properties of this unique spicy greenery, no special processing is required, it can be consumed fresh. Moreover, all parts of this plant are beneficial.

The most essential beneficial properties of parsley include:

• Strengthening general immunity. This property is associated with the ability of parsley to positively influence the work of the endocrine system.
• Due to the content of folic acid, parsley is able to be a catalyst in the processes of tissue regeneration.
  Acceleration of metabolism. It increases the production of red blood cells, which in turn leads to an increase in the level of hemoglobin in the blood.
• May relieve inflammation. In particular, eugenol, which is part of parsley, relieves swelling and inflammation in arthritis of the joints, chlorophyll fights inflammation of the oral cavity, and histidine helps with skin inflammation caused by various kinds of infections.
• Reduces stomach acidity
• Strengthens the walls of blood vessels, due to the fact that the microelements included in its composition reduce the amount of such an amino acid harmful to our capillaries as homocysteine.
• Due to its high amount of potassium, parsley can lower blood pressure and restore normal heart rate.
• Luteolin, which is part of this medicinal plant, perfectly cleanses the body, reducing the amount of free radicals.
• It removes excess fluid and salt from the body, and is also used as a therapy in the treatment of inflammation of the organs of the genitourinary system, in particular, pyelonephritis.
• The beta-carotene contained in parsley is effective as a prophylactic agent against the development of eye diseases

However, it should be borne in mind that parsley is not indicated for people suffering from gout and acute cystitis, as well as with urolithiasis. In the latter case, excessive enthusiasm for this spice can even provoke the movement of kidney stones. You also need to keep in mind that in 2011, parsley was even recognized as containing potent drugs.Thus, parsley essential oil contains myristicin, which in large quantities can cause dizziness and even disturbances of consciousness.

Growing parsley outdoors: a few words about the types of parsley

Growing parsley outdoors

Parsley can be grown not only for the use of greens, but also for the production of root crops. Root parsley also produces green mass both in the planting year and the following year. This article will mainly focus on the leafy form of parsley, but a few words about the root will also be said.

Leaf and root parsley differ precisely in the shape of the roots.

In root species, the root crop has a dense structure, in shape it resembles a daikon. The range of use of parsley roots is quite wide; it is indispensable in soups and main courses, giving them a special piquancy. Parsley is also good for eating raw.

In leafy parsley, the roots are thin and rather long, they are unlikely to be suitable for use as an independent spice.

Both types of parsley are unpretentious plants, they can easily tolerate a drop in air temperature to serious negative values ​​(up to -9 ° C), and root crops calmly overwinter right in the ground. Therefore, almost any region of the country is suitable for the cultivation of parsley.

Leaf parsley growing from seed

Parsley growing from seeds

Preparing a landing site

For growing parsley, the most optimal areas are illuminated, located on loamy, well-drained soils.

For the spring planting of parsley, the following preparatory measures must be taken:

Dig up the earth thoroughly by adding humus (half a bucket per 1m? Area). If you plan to plant parsley in clay areas, you should additionally add 2 kg of sawdust and the same amount of sand.

A mixture of 1 tablespoon of urea, potassium sulfate, double superphosphate and 0.5 liters of ash is sprinkled on top of the prepared soil, this will accelerate the process of seed germination.

The area intended for planting is leveled and spilled with a pale solution of potassium permanganate (approximately 1.5 g per bucket of water).

As a fertilizer for preparing the soil for planting, you can also take a mixture of 4 kg of compost, 10 g of potassium chloride, 15 g of superphosphate and 20 g of nitrate (all per 1 m2 of area).

Before the autumn planting of parsley, a number of preparatory procedures are also required:

To get rid of various kinds of parasites that hide in the ground in anticipation of the cold season, the ground needs to be dug up. For digging, as fertilizer, you can add 4-5kg of humus per 1m? squares

If there are too many weeds in the soil, lime materials can be added to help retain snow.

From above, the ground must be covered with mulch with a layer of 15-20 cm. This will improve the structure of the soil and in the spring will make life much easier for sprouting parsley plants. Mulching is especially important for areas with heavy, hard soil.

Variety selection

Parsley seeds can be harvested on their own, but the collection is carried out only in the second year after planting. Therefore, it is easier and faster to buy seeds in a specialized store. But if you still want to get your own seeds, then we will tell you more about this in the next paragraph of the article.

At the moment, more than 30 varieties of parsley are known. And the main difference is in the shape of the leaves. Parsley happens curly (has small, delicate, as if curling leaves) and ordinary.

For cultivation in the middle zone of our country, the following varieties are the most successful:

Sugar.

This is a mid-early ripening type of root parsley. It has a not long cream-colored root crop. The green mass reaches 1m in height.

Yielding.

Also a type of medium-ripening root parsley. It has a root crop reaching 30cm in length. Stores well after harvest.

Bordwick.

Root variety of medium late ripening. The root crop grows up to 35cm long. Keeping quality is good.
Common leaf. A leafy look of early ripening parsley. It has a large rosette, it has a soft leaf structure with a strong aroma.

Breeze.

Leafy type of medium ripening. The green mass reaches 75cm in length. After cutting, the leaves grow back quickly.

Self-collecting seeds

If you want to get plants from your own seeds, then after the end of the first life cycle, you need to cull the plants, removing weak specimens. This will help to obtain the most viable planting material. It is best to take seeds that ripen earlier than anyone else for further reproduction. Fully ripe seeds are dark brown in color. If there is a need to artificially bring the seeds to a state of maturity, they can be decomposed in a place where direct sunlight falls on them, keeping them there for 2 days. Ripe seeds must be dried without exposure to drafts. For parsley seeds, the rule is: the older the harvested seeds, the better. Seeds harvested more than a year ago are suitable for planting.

Growing parsley outdoors: planting

Since parsley seeds germinate for a long enough time (14 to 21 days) to speed up this process, it is recommended to treat the seeds with a growth stimulant. First, soak the seeds in ordinary water, which has an air temperature of 3 days. Change the water after 3 hours. Then place the seeds directly into the growth promoter. The use of these procedures can reduce the germination time by more than half.

You can start planting parsley both in spring and late autumn. However, a sub-winter planting is more suitable for regions with mild winters.

Winter landing

The most optimal timing for late autumn planting is from the third decade of October until the onset of stable negative temperatures. For autumn planting, it is not required to pre-treat the seeds to improve germination. The necessary measures in this case are the preparation and fertilization of the land. Plantings do not need to be covered with anything, since parsley tolerates rather low temperatures.

Seed germination will begin in spring after the air temperature rises to +4 ° C.

In those parts of our country where winter lasts for a long time, the method of planting parsley through seedlings is also used.

In order to have grown parsley seedlings by the time a stable above-zero temperature is established (approximately by the beginning of April), they begin to sow seeds from the second half of March. It is best to sow seeds in peat pots. Fill the pots with soil purchased from a specialized store, or with a mixture of garden soil, turf and humus. It is better to pre-treat the seeds (as described earlier) to accelerate germination.

The optimum temperature for plant development is + 23-25 ​​° C. Seedlings need to be watered often, preventing the soil from drying out. When the first leaves are visible, you need to lower the air temperature to + 18 ° C.

You can plant seedlings in the ground until mid-July. If you use this method of growing parsley in the warm regions of the country, you can get up to 6 crops in the spring and summer.

Parsley seedlings are quite sensitive to transplanting, therefore, when planting it in unprotected soil, make sure that there is a decent clod of soil on the roots.

Spring sowing

Direct sowing with seeds to a permanent place in spring begins in March-April and until mid-July (in this case, greens will appear in September, and then the next year in May) for leafy varieties and, accordingly, until mid-May for root varieties.

The best precursors for parsley are tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, onions, pumpkins. It is recommended to return parsley crops to the same place only after 3 years.

Before planting, you need to loosen the soil well; in hard ground, the root varieties of parsley can give root crops of an irregular shape.

Seeding rate for parsley -1g per 1 m? area, for summer sowing, this rate increases by 1/3.
When planting parsley, grooves are made 1 cm deep (2 cm for autumn sowing), 3 seeds are laid out per nest, observing the distance between the nests 4-10 cm, depending on the variety (the larger the root crop should grow, the greater the distance between the nests). The distance between the rows should be 20cm. After the seeds are laid out, they are sprinkled with a small amount of earth and tamped a little by hand. Then the plantings are spilled and covered with a layer of mulch. If frosts are predicted, to speed up germination, the seedlings can be covered with plastic wrap.

Parsley: growing and care

Watering is especially important for leaf parsley. Until the emergence of shoots, the plantings are watered carefully, but regularly, while making sure that the water does not stagnate. Despite the fact that parsley generally tolerates dry weather well, with a lack of moisture in the soil, the leaves become rough, although they accumulate an increased amount of aromatic substances. Therefore, if the main purpose of parsley cultivation is for you to get greens, the humidity must be constantly maintained within 70%. If the greens are to be dried, the watering will need to be reduced.

In the event that the seedlings were covered with foil, they should be aired daily.
Weeding and loosening of the soil is an important measure; these procedures must be carried out throughout the entire period of plant growth.
After the third leaf is visible on the seedlings, the seedlings are thinned out.

As for dressings, they are necessary for the plant only until the outlet is formed. At this point, the following mixture is used as fertilizer: 1 kg of compost or mullein, as well as 15 g of superphosphate and the same amount of potassium sulfate per bucket of water. After the formation of rosettes, nitrogen-containing fertilizers are excluded, since they can accumulate in the leaves and roots of the plant.

Parsley is cut until stable negative temperatures appear. If the root parsley hibernates in the ground, then they stop cutting off the greens already in September. If the root crops are planned to be kept in the cellar, then they are dug out before the first frost.
The last cut greens can be dried or frozen.

Preparing for the winter period

If the root parsley was planted in early spring, then by the onset of the winter period it has already formed a root crop that can survive the cold in the ground. However, in areas with cold winters, it is still better to store them in basements and cellars, sprinkled with sand.

For better transfer of cold weather in the ground, the green part of the parsley is cut in September. After the air temperature reaches negative values, the parsley is spud and covered with a layer of mulch (using needles, or foliage).

Second year of the parsley growing cycle

After the snow melts, last year's mulch is removed from the beds. If you want to speed up the process of growing greenery, you need to make a cover of film above the bed. Seedlings that have appeared under the film need to be regularly aired and watered, and then the first greens will be ready for cutting in April.
In the case when the root crops survived the winter indoors, before planting in the ground, they need to be cleaned, cut off to a length of 15 cm and held for a little in a growth stimulator. Then the roots are planted again in the ground, keeping a distance of 10 cm between the plants. It is better to cover the landings with foil. The first crop of green mass on such plantings will also be ready by April.

Growing parsley outdoors