How to Grow Parsley From Seed

Parsley is cold-hardy and in no hurry, so give it a long, cool start. Direct-sow outdoors 4 to 6 weeks before your last spring frost, as soon as the soil can be worked, or start it indoors even earlier for a head start. Sow again in late summer for a fall supply. Just be patient: parsley germinates slowly, so the seeds may sit for weeks before they wake up.

Soak the seeds overnight in warm water first to soften the coat and speed things along. Sow them about a quarter inch deep in rich, moist soil, in the garden, a raised bed, or a deep pot, since parsley has a taproot and dislikes being disturbed. Keep the soil around 70F and never let it dry out. Germination is famously slow and uneven, taking 2 to 4 weeks, so do not give up. Once seedlings are up, thin or transplant them to about 6 to 8 inches apart.

Parsley is easy once it is growing. It has shallow feeder roots, so keep the soil evenly moist and mulch to hold water and keep weeds down. Give it full sun, or a little afternoon shade in hot climates. A dose of compost or balanced feed once or twice through the season keeps the leaves lush and green. Pick often to keep new growth coming, and watch for aphids and for the green-and-black parsley worms, which are the caterpillars of swallowtail butterflies.

Climate shapes how long a plant lasts: parsley is a biennial, so in milder regions like the South, the mid-Atlantic, and the Pacific Northwest (roughly USDA zone 7 and warmer) a fall planting will often overwinter under a few inches of mulch and give you an early spring cut before it bolts. In colder northern gardens it usually winter-kills, so treat it as a fresh spring sowing each year.

Parsley plays well with almost everything, and once it flowers its umbels pull in hoverflies and parasitic wasps that hunt garden pests. These four make especially good neighbors, and you can add any of them in one click:

You can start snipping once the plants are bushy, usually about 10 to 11 weeks from sowing. Take the outer stems first, cutting them right down at the base, and leave the young inner leaves to keep growing. Harvest regularly and the plant stays productive from spring right through to hard frost. Use parsley fresh, or freeze it to keep that bright flavor.

Flat-leaf Italian parsley is a kitchen workhorse with a clean, peppery-green flavor. Chop it into tabbouleh and salads, stir it through soups, sauces, and pasta, or blitz it into chimichurri, gremolata, and salsa verde. Add it near the end of cooking so it stays fresh and bright, and keep a little raw on hand as a natural breath freshener.

• Slow or patchy germination: this is normal for parsley. Soak the seeds overnight, keep the soil warm and constantly moist, and wait it out, up to a month.
• Parsley worms: striped green caterpillars that become swallowtail butterflies. Leave a few if you can spare the leaves, or pick them off by hand.
• Aphids: rinse them off with a strong spray of water and invite ladybugs with nearby flowers.
• Bolting: in its second year, or in extreme heat, parsley flowers and turns bitter; resow for tender new leaves.