‘Gharsley parsley’ — not
Baby, it’s (been) cold outside! Up north we would be pulling in our gardening, but down here, we’ve only just begun. There are many cold weather vegetables and herbs to plant now. Hum,… parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Parsley, petroselinum crispum species of the apiaceae family, is said to be the world’s most popular herb, with three types being curly leaf, flat leaf (Italian) and root (hamburg). Years ago, when I first moved to Cape Coral, I planted three curly leaf parsley plants just outside my glassed-in family room. They grew into bushes two and a half feet tall. Never saw such healthy parsley. One morning I stepped out and they were all green skeletons. Overnite, caterpillars had stripped them. I had lovely large caterpillars, which we need for swallowtail butterflies, but they forgot to share with me.
A native of the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe, parsley has been cultivated for 2,000 years. Mainly used as medicine in the beginning, ancient Greeks deemed it as sacred. It’s later use as garnish can be traced to ancient Romans. In some countries, the curly leaf is preferred because the flat leaf looks like “fool’s parsley,” anthriscus cynapium, a poisonous weed. The turnip-rooted (or hamburg) parsley, relatively new (within the past 200 years?) is developed for its turnip-like root. Parsley’s name comes from the Greek word for “rock celery.” Celery is a relative. A biennial plant, it is sometimes treated as an annual, because its second year is spent developing a deep tuber root and blossoms on top to produce seeds, making it tough. The hamburg parsley develops a tuber root six times that of parsley’s. We don’t use it much here in the U.S. or Britain, but it’s commonly used in Central and European cuisine. It may look like a parsnip, but it tastes much differently. Parsnip means “forked turnip,” but turnips and parsnips are not related.
Curly leaf is used decoratively for garnishes. We use to eat it off our garnished plate after meals to cleanse our palates, but mainly to prevent bad breath. The pungent flat leaf parsley, Italian, is preferred now-a-days in cooking. Both parsleys need deep pots if containerizing, to accommodate their deep root. Used as companion plants, it is believed to be able to hide the strong smell of the tomato plants from insects. It over-winters nicely in cold climates.
Parsley needs good, well-drained soil, partially shaded. Seeds should be sown in cooler weather here, one-fourth inches deep, then when an inch high, thin to six inches apart. A well-grown plant covers a square foot. You can’t transplant it safely after the tap root starts. Keep it liberally watered without drowning it, and free of weeds. Frankly, I buy a pot of many starts and go from there. Beware of rabbits, they love parsley! When parsley starts up its second year, remove the flower starts to have a good-flavored, second-year crop. Regularly clip, allowing new leaves to develop and mature.
There are several similar plants like parsley. Chevril – anthriscus cerefolium, sometimes called the “gourmet parsley,” is an annual grown for its aromatic leaves. It may resemble parsley, but it tastes like tarragon and is the apiaceae family. Coriander or cilantro or Chinese parsley – coriander sativum, is in the apiaceae family, and is grown mainly for its seeds. Its fresh foliage can be used in cooking. Not be confused with culantro – erynglum foetidum. Culantro is in the apiaceae family also, and a biennial, but it has long, oval, spiny, serrated-edged leaves. Cilantro and culantro have similar aromas with culantro being more pungent. It is used in Caribbean dishes and salsas. Then, at the Edison & Ford Fall Festival Plant Sale a few weeks ago, I bought a big pot of celery. It doesn’t have stalks, but has identical leaves to the flat-leafed parsley. It smells and tastes like celery and can be added to foods for celery flavoring. I split a full pot with my oldest daughter. I love making and eating taboulleh with parsley and mint, and my family loved eating boiled, buttered, red skin potatoes sprinkled with chopped parsley. A savory flavor!
But, one of my favorite poets was Ogden Nash, who had a divergent opinion; he said, “Parsley is Gharsley!” To each his own opinion.
Joyce Comingore – Master Gardener, President of the James E. Hendry Chapter of the Am. Hibiscus Society and a National Board member, member of the Garden Club of Cape Coral.