Parsley works well in many dishes, both Danish and international. When you are shopping for dinner, it is easy to grab a pot of parsley from the chilled section of the supermarket when it is on the ingredients list. But you can actually grow it quite easily in your garden at home, and in this post we will tell you much more about how. The truth is that home-grown parsley simply tastes better!
Parsley is not just parsley
There are two types of leaf parsley that we most often use in Danish cooking: curly parsley and flat-leaf parsley. As the name suggests, curly parsley has more curled leaves, and it is definitely the herb most people think of first when parsley is mentioned.
Flat-leaf parsley has a stronger flavour, which is due to its content of essential oils, and it is therefore also very good to use in cooking. Some people prefer one over the other for various reasons. For example, some think that flat-leaf parsley is easier to clean.
Parsley in the garden: how to do it
Like many other herbs parsley is best sown once the frost is over. Parsley germinates best in warmer weather, so it is the temperature that determines how quickly your parsley comes up. You can also pre-soak your parsley seeds in a glass of water for a day first, as this can make them germinate faster. In general, though, parsley has a long germination time of around 6 weeks, but then you will have parsley for the whole year, and you can look forward to new shoots the following year.
Parsley needs both sun and shade to get the right soft but fresh texture in the leaves. On the other hand, the sun contributes to a more intense flavour. The soil should be fertilised to suit parsley, and you can do this by sprinkling lime and spreading compost before you plant.
When you sow your parsley, it is a good idea to do it in a raised bed, so that you can prepare the soil for exactly this. Sow your parsley in rows with approx. 30 cm between the rows, and cover the seeds lightly with soil and compost, which helps the parsley germinate. The method is the same whether you grow curly parsley or flat-leaf parsley.
Tips for growing parsley:
- You can pre-grow your parsley in a pot on the windowsill until it is ready to be planted in the bed outside. That way the plant will have true leaves when you move it outdoors.
- It is a good idea to sow a row of radishes alongside the parsley rows, as a marker of where you have planted your parsley. This is because radishes germinate quickly.
- If you have been too early sowing your parsley in the raised bed outdoors, you can cover the soil with horticultural fleece, which will keep the warmth in.
Caring for parsley in a raised bed
Once you have sown your parsley, it is important to keep the soil moist on an ongoing basis, even when the plants have grown large. You can do this by watering regularly, but also by covering the surface of the soil with straw, dead leaves or bark, which retain moisture. At the same time, remember to water the soil if the weather does not do it naturally.
Parsley can grow large and spread a lot, but it is important to ensure about 10-15 cm between each parsley plant. That way you avoid them cross-pollinating each other and growth stopping.
Also make sure to remove weeds in the raised bed with the parsley, as weeds put a stop to the parsley's growth by taking nutrients and moisture from the soil. You may harvest parsley from mid-June if the plant has grown large enough. However, be careful not to cut too much off at the start.