Parsley is a biennial plant, without which not a single garden can do. Growing parsley often causes some difficulties for gardeners - the seeds do not germinate well or at all. In our gardens we grow root and leaf varieties. Beneficial features parsley, a pleasant aroma that improves the taste of any dish, made it an essential attribute of any garden. How to prepare parsley seeds for sowing, how to speed up or increase their germination? Parsley belongs to the umbrella family along with dill, cumin, angelica, lovage, cilantro, carrots, parsnips, celery, coriander. All of them have hollow stems, umbrella inflorescences. The botanical name is Petroselinum crispum.
It is difficult to say which parsley is more popular with gardeners. Leaf parsley is common, with smooth, shiny leaves or curly, with matte corrugated leaves. They differ from each other in the shape of the sheet. Common parsley usually has a stronger flavor than curly-leaf parsley. But curly parsley is very beautiful, elegant - it will decorate any dish.
- Beneficial features
- Growing parsley
- parsley storage
- parsley varieties
Beneficial features
Parsley is used in soups, sauces, salads, its use reduces the need for salt. It is a food low in saturated fat, very low in cholesterol. It is also a good source of protein, vitamin E (alpha tocopherol), thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, and a very good source of dietary fiber. Parsley contains a considerable amount of vitamin C. It is also rich in vitamin A - its effect on vision, reducing the risk of atherosclerosis and diabetes is well known. Carotene, calcium, mineral salts of iron, phosphorus, minerals - this is just the main list of useful components of this fragrant plant. And the presence of aroma, its strength and pleasant taste depends on the percentage essential oils. Root vegetables, parsley leaves are used for food.
Preparation of parsley seeds for sowing, increasing and accelerating their germination
Parsley seeds germinate for a long time - 15-20 days. This is due to the fact that the seeds are covered with essential oils that prevent germination, as if they do not allow the seed coat to get wet, do not allow moisture inside. This feature must be taken into account when preparing parsley seeds for sowing. Many gardeners cover the beds with foil or spunbond after sowing to keep the soil moist. Do not remove the shelter until the sprouts appear from the ground. If you are sure that all these 15-20 days required for germination, you will be able to keep the beds moist, then soaking the parsley seeds before sowing is not necessary.
But there are ways to germinate seeds that increase parsley germination, accelerating the emergence of seedlings.
You can accelerate germination by soaking seeds in water overnight before planting. Water, by the way, practically does not dissolve the oil on the surface of the seeds. Therefore, parsley seeds should be poured over before soaking. hot water(not boiling water) to wash essential oils off their surface.
One more way. Very simple. Need to soak the seeds in water, since essential oils dissolve in alcohol-containing solutions. At the bottom of the saucer I pour a little 40-degree. Then I pour the seeds on a small piece of a wide gauze bandage. I dip parsley seeds on gauze into vodka, leave for 15-20 minutes. No longer - you can burn the seeds. Then I lift the bandage with seeds, rinse under running water. It is a must to rinse. Then I dry the seeds. Everything - parsley seeds are ready for sowing. This method of seed treatment allows them to germinate twice as fast. Shoots are friendly, strong.
There is another way fast germination. Many of us grow greens for the table on the window or balcony. It is very comfortable. Parsley seeds germinate very slowly, but there is one way to "make" them germinate very quickly. Prepare a container with earth, moisten it, sprinkle the earth with quicklime three times every 10-15 minutes. Sow parsley seeds pre-soaked in milk. The seeds will sprout in three hours. The room should be warm, not lower than 20°C.
Growing parsley
Before sowing parsley seeds, you should dig or loosen the ground well. It will not be superfluous to fill it with organic fertilizers before cultivating the soil.
Sowing dates depend on the condition of the soil. You don't have to wait for warm weather. As soon as the snow has melted, you can sow the seeds. Optimum temperature for seed germination - +1 - +5C. In the Kuban, you can sow in the "February windows". IN middle lane Russia - in April, after the snow has melted. That is, parsley is a cold-resistant plant. Seedlings easily tolerate light frosts, winter well under a good layer of snow. Spring is a great time to sow parsley seeds, but you can sow parsley any time of the year—spring, summer, and fall. The most important thing is to keep the soil moist until germination. Seeds can be sown late autumn, before winter. At the same time, the sowing dates must be chosen so that the seeds do not have time to germinate before the onset of frost - young shoots will not tolerate the cold, they will die.
The best precursors to parsley are onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes. The seeds are sown finely, to a depth of no more than 1-1.5 cm. It is better to sprinkle the seeds with humus on top. For the entire period of growth, at least 3-4 times it is necessary to loosen the soil, feed 1-2 times. If the seedlings are too thick, thin out the crops. There should be at least 3-5 cm between plants. Top dressing should be started only after the appearance of 2-3 true leaves. Feed with a complete mineral fertilizer with a predominance of nitrogen. The soil should not be allowed to dry out. Parsley does not like weeds, they greatly inhibit its growth.
For the whole season, 3-4 loosening, 1-2 top dressing and watering are carried out. With dense seedlings, the plants are thinned out, leaving 3-5 cm between them. Top dressing begins when 2-3 true leaves appear in the plants, and then they are fed after cutting the leaves. For getting big harvest green mass parsley is fed with a complete mineral fertilizer with a predominance of nitrogen.
Leaves are cut as low as possible. Do not cut too many leaves from one plant at a time - no more than a third, otherwise the bush will not be able to recover quickly or even die. It is worth periodically removing the stem on which the inflorescence develops (unless you want to collect the seeds), because new leaves will not grow on the old stem. New leaves usually grow from the outside of the rosette. By the way, in curly varieties, new leaves grow from the center of the outlet.
Tomatoes and asparagus in your area will grow better if parsley grows nearby. Plant it near roses - their aroma will intensify.
parsley storage
The best storage method is freezing. It retains its taste and color well when frozen. If you have to collect it for storage after rain, then you should rinse the branches well, dry them by wrapping them with a kitchen towel. Separate the leaves from the stems. Don't throw away the stems, you can freeze them too. They are great for improving the taste of soups. Dip the parsley stalks into the soup shortly before the end of cooking, tied in bunches. Then, after 5-7 minutes, they can be removed from the soup.
Parsley - wonderful greens, biennial spicy herb which can be served with almost any dish. Sowing parsley in the summer, you can try this greenery not only in the year of planting, but also for the next season. In addition, parsley unpretentious plant and there are no complicated rules on how to sow it and how to care for it.
Parsley has one feature - its seeds germinate for a long time.
On the Internet, I even found a post that says: “How to grow parsley in 3 hours” - for this you need to soak it in milk, and sprinkle the ground with dolomite three times every 10-15 minutes before planting. In my opinion - complete nonsense! Moreover, I did not see a single confirming photograph of this experiment.
10 Parsley Growing Tips You Should Really Use.
- Parsley can be sown from early spring to early August. Seeds germinate at 3-4°C. Parsley grows best in well-lit places and loose fertile soils with an acidity of pH 5.5 - 6.7, and ash or any potash fertilizers are very effective for top dressing.
- When sowing in spring and summer, it is better to pre-soak parsley seeds for 2-3 hours in Zircon. When soaking, it is convenient to use cotton pads to remove makeup. In October-November, winter sowing can be done - with dry seeds.
- The soil when planting should not be dry, but also too wet.
- Plant the seeds into the soil shallowly, about 1 cm. You can cover the landings for the first time with lutrasil. If you want seedlings to appear even faster, cover the crops with film or glass, and when greenery appears, with lutrasil.
- On a separate bed parsley is best sown in rows. There is no need to maintain a certain distance: as soon as the parsley grows, thin out the plantings, cutting greens into a salad.
- For parsley, you do not need to prepare a separate bed: plant it in the aisle of any vegetable plants. An exception is carrots, parsley is “not friendly” with it. You can even plant parsley along the edges of the potato furrows, of course, after the potatoes have been planted for the second and last time.
- Parsley, planted in the form of a border, edging to others, looks very impressive and beautiful. annual plants and flowers. In container gardening, parsley is one of the commonly used herbs: plant parsley in different containers and flowerpots with other aromatic herbs and you will have a "kitchen garden" that will give you various greens to the table all season long.
- Parsley is “not friendly” with crops such as dill, carrots, parsnips, celery, cumin, cilantro, carrots, so you can’t plant it in the beds where these crops used to grow.
- Parsley can have two main pests - the whitefly butterfly and the "swallowtail caterpillar" caterpillar. Check the crops and find the caterpillars, collect them manually and destroy them. And from the whitefly, apply dusting with ash and tobacco dust in accordance with 1: 1 or spraying with tar or laundry soap.
- The grown parsley is cut with scissors, starting from the outer leaves. Parsley is consumed not only fresh, it retains its qualities both dried and frozen.
Little tips.
- Parsley planted around the perimeter of the beds will help against the invasion of slugs.
- Due to the decorative nature of the leaves, parsley can be sown in balcony boxes or garden vases along with various flowers.
- To keep parsley leaves fresh longer and not wilted, put them in a vinegar solution for half an hour. half diluted with water.
- Parsley is not a moisture-loving plant, but in too dry weather, the growth of its leaves slows down, they coarsen. In this case, the leaves become more fragrant, as they grow stocks of essential oils.
- ending holiday season, you can dig up a couple of parsley bushes and, transplanting them into pots, take them with you to your apartment: then you can enjoy parsley in winter.
- Parsley is an assistant to your health. Helps…
- with viral diseases and influenza;
- hypertension;
- nephritis - kidney disease (parsley root boiled in milk);
- obesity
- edema;
- cystitis.
Good luck with your planting, harvest and ideas!
Parsley is the herb that we always grow in our gardens and orchards. There are no special secrets on how to plant parsley, planting parsley and dill is easy. It grows on almost any soil, parsley can grow both in the sun and in partial shade. Parsley grows best in light, fertile soil in a sunny position.
Parsley is a two-year-old spicy herb, so in May you can eat shoots of last year's parsley, and wait for new shoots by June. The advantage of parsley is that it has a long period when to plant parsley - it can be planted throughout the summer and even before winter, but do not get carried away too much, it can overwinter badly. Leaf parsley can be sown throughout the summer.
Where to sow parsley in spring
Parsley grows well on fertilized and loose soils, if you grow root parsley, then loamy or sandy soil is suitable for it. This plant is photophilous and loves a long daylight hours, so choose a sunny planting site. Suitable for growing parsley in the garden:
- direct sunlight,
- penumbra,
- scattered sun rays
The plant is moisture-loving, but it is not worth over-wetting the plantings, it does not tolerate this. Can be damaged by powdery mildew, rust, black dry rot. It must be protected from slugs and aphids.
When to plant parsley.
- Parsley for seedlings and for growing at home on windowsills can be planted from January on the days of the growing moon to December.
- When can dill and parsley be planted outdoors? In open ground, in the garden, the time to plant parsley comes in the second half of April. But, if it does not sprout (it happens that you sow-sow, but it does not sprout), then you can sow several times per season. Parsley is a cold-resistant plant and the planting temperature of parsley is +1 ... +5 degrees. It easily withstands frost.
Days of the growing moon for planting parsley in 2015:
- when you can plant parsley in March - from March 22 to March 31,
- parsley is planted in April - April 1-3 and April 19-30,
- V planting days for parsley in May - 1 - 3 and 19 - 31 May.
A significant disadvantage of parsley is that it takes a long time to sprout, so if you plant parsley on greens in April, it will be edible in June. Parsley seeds germinate more slowly, so the seeds can be soaked before planting.
To speed up the cultivation of parsley in open ground, cover crops with covering material. You can even do this. I downloaded to cover with polyethylene, and then, after the appearance of the first green sprouts, with lutrasil or other woven material. Under polyethylene, parsley will sprout quickly, and then changing the polyethylene to a woven material, you will not need to worry about the shoots burning.
How to plant parsley seedlings.
For growing parsley through seedlings, mini-greenhouses in the form of a container with drawers and a lid are well suited.
- Fill each cup with potting mix
- water warm water,
- lay 5 - 6 parsley seeds,
- sprinkle with earth for seedlings, 0.5 cm thick,
- cover the greenhouse plastic lid or polyethylene film
- put in a bright place with a constant temperature, you can even on a glazed balcony.
Parsley seedlings sprout for a long time, about two weeks.
How to speed up the germination of parsley seeds (how to soak parsley seeds if they germinate poorly):
- dry seeds pour a glass of hot water from the tap,
- cool down
- when the water has cooled - drain,
- do this procedure several times during the day,
- wrap in a damp cloth
- as the seeds hatched - planted in the ground.
How to plant parsley seeds in a garden bed in open ground.
It is best and most familiar to plant parsley in rows. You can even not make a separate bed, but plant it between other vegetables that ripen slowly. It is preferable to grow parsley in beds with a row spacing of 20–25 cm.
There is parsley: root and leaf.
How to plant root parsley.
Growing root parsley has its own subtleties, since the root system forms a root crop in the form of a cone, then it must be sown immediately on permanent place, in early spring(in the middle of April). Shoots appear for a long time, so be sure to soak the seeds. For good growth she needs potassium, so before planting, add ash to the soil at the rate of 1 glass of ash per 1 meter of planting. In dry weather, water the prepared breast thoroughly before applying the ashes. In wet weather, ash can simply be scattered between rows on moist soil.
Leaf parsley has beautiful leaves that can be used to decorate flower beds and designs. garden plot. The leaves are smooth curly, corrugated. The root of leafy parsley is thin and highly branched.
Parsley is an unpretentious spicy herb, but still grows better:
- in a well-lit garden,
- with fertilized, loose soil,
- for the root - with a deep arable layer,
- do not plant this plant in places where other umbrella crops such as celery, carrots, dill, cilantro, cumin used to grow. Only after 4 years it will be possible to plant parsley, after these predecessors, so we make a bed for parsley, taking into account these recommendations.
How beautiful to plant parsley.
Thanks to its beautiful curly leaves and long, until the very frost, preservation of a bright green color, parsley can be used as ornamental plant. It can be used to decorate flower beds or planted from the edge in raised beds. Also, green parsley leaves look beautiful in garden flowerpots. In addition, parsley can be cut off and then it will grow back and you can have several crops of herbs.
Parsley is the most delicious and useful herb, which is so widely used as a seasoning, for cooking various dishes. It is also very well used in medicine, serves as the best healer in traditional medicine and not only. Not only leaves are used, but also parsley root. It is grown by almost every gardener on his site. You can choose seeds in a gardening store, where you can choose the variety that you like best from a large selection. Each package with reverse side it is written when it will rise and what its taste characteristics are.
Planting and growing parsley
This cultivated plant can be sown as at the end of summer, so that it gives next year good harvest root vegetables and also greens or in the spring to eat this healthy greens during the summer. It can be planted as soon as the frosts end and the earth warms up enough. Before sowing parsley seeds, you need to prepare a small plot of land on which you want to plant it. Make grooves with a small distance between them. Plant the seeds as close to each other as possible, this is done so that the parsley sprouts very often and densely, and cover it with the same soil, so that the seeds are not very deep in the ground. After you have planted the seeds, be sure to water them with a small amount of water.
It is best to cover with polyethylene before germination so that the seeds sprout as quickly as possible. After the first sprouts sprout, the polyethylene must be removed. Then watering is not very often, but it is also not worth overdrying the soil, as it will then be bitter, and taste qualities will not be highest level. Be sure to loosen between the grooves and weed so that it is not overgrown with weeds. As soon as the parsley grows at least 10-12 cm, it can already be eaten and cooked in a variety of dishes. This will happen around the middle of June, as parsley grows very quickly.
Harvesting and storage
Since parsley is a biennial plant, in the first year only the leaves should be removed, cutting them off with scissors, and in the second year, the roots must also be removed. should be harvested long before the onset of the first frost, it is best to do this at the end of August. Since parsley is very afraid of frost, at the same time it loses most their beneficial vitamins and presentation. The cut leaves are tied into bunches and dried, and then finely ground or ground, for later addition to food as spices. Some cut the leaves finely, add salt and put them tightly in jars and store in the refrigerator, but in this form it is not stored for very long, up to 150 days.
Garden parsley belongs to perennials and popular with gardeners. The value of parsley is determined by its vitamin composition, and unpretentiousness in care. The height of the plant reaches about half a meter. Leaf parsley contains a high percentage of nutrients, it is used as a flavoring additive to dishes, eaten raw, used in the cosmetic industry.
Varieties of leaf parsley
There are many varieties of leaf parsley, “proven” varieties can be called: Sandwich, Gloria, Astra, Classic leaf, Triplex, Sorceress, Titan, Bogatyr, Breeze.
Classic leaf parsley
The variety is a fragrant lush bushy green with a high yield. Ripening dates come one and a half months after sowing or planting. Greens are ideal for salads, marinades and canning.
curly parsley variety
Due to its appearance, ideal for decoration holiday table. Possesses excellent taste, aroma and gentle greenery. Yields throughout the growing season correct pruning. Good keeping quality and pleasant taste of curly greens make it indispensable on the kitchen table.
Esmeralda
Parsley is mid-season, one of the varieties of curly. Unpretentious in care, gives a lot of greenery. It can be stored in the refrigerator for more than two weeks without losing its taste.
Sandwich leaf parsley
Resistant to low temperatures, belongs to varieties of medium ripeness, has a bushy thick cap and a large leaf. The variety has a bright aroma and an abundance of vitamins. Ideal for preparing complex sandwiches and pickles.
An early variety of parsley, with curly greens. Gives a high yield. Quickly gives new branches of greenery after cutting.
Variety Breeze
Tender greens, mid-season variety, does not lose its qualities during storage for a long period. After pruning, the greens grow back quickly and are stored for a long time.
How to plant? Growing leafy parsley
Pre-sowing preparation of the site begins in the fall. The site is dug up, fertilizers, ash are applied, and preserved with a film. In the spring, when the soil begins to warm up, the film is removed, the site is dug up again, potassium, phosphorus and humus are added. They form beds and apply nitrogen, which is an ideal assistant in growing dense greenery.
Pre-pickled parsley seeds are sown in prepared furrows about a centimeter deep. They dig in and water the entire garden. For friendly shoots, with early sowing, the site is again covered with a transparent plastic wrap.
Leaf parsley can be sown several times a year to obtain young tender greens. Top dressing is carried out after sowing with superphosphate and potassium sulfate, about 30 grams per square meter.
Parsley can also be grown with the help of roots, they are germinated in advance, then planted in open ground. Root crops should be planted to a depth of at least 15 cm;
Almost any soil is suitable for both sowing and planting leaf parsley, except for clay, sod-podzolic soil is considered the best.
In the first year of growth, parsley does not produce seeds. If you decide to collect seeds at the end of the growing season, you need to choose a strong healthy plant. Seeds from it will be large and of high quality.
It is better to collect seeds when they become dark in color, with early collection, the seeds will be less likely to sprout together. Sort the seeds, giving preference to larger ones.
In order not to damage the seed capsule, do not collect with your hands, but with a cut of the seed caps. After shaking the seed caps into a bag.
To ripen the seeds, place them in the sun for two days. Spread out on the windowsill in a thin layer, and keep in a cloth or paper bag until sowing.
Parsley root, application
Growing parsley root is practically no different from the sowing method of plant propagation. The roots are also planted in the ground and fertilized according to the schedule.
Parsley root is in many ways similar to parsnips, with a slight nutty aftertaste. The use of parsley root in the form of juice heals the body, increases immunity, protects cells from premature aging.
Parsley root has a high antioxidant effect, the decoction helps to cope with skin problems and stress.
Parsley root juice is diluted before consumption due to the high concentration of vitamins in order to avoid allergies.
A drink made from parsley juice, carrots and honey is considered highly valuable.
Parsley root tincture helps in the fight against fungal infections.
Parsley root for storage is not dug up until frost, after which root crops are dug up and stored in boxes with sand, in a cool place.
Common leaf parsley, curly, sandwich, universal: care, top dressing
Parsley is a plant that can be grown all year round. The main condition for stable growth and obtaining a crop of leaf parsley is the timely care and feeding of greenery.
For planting varieties of curly and sandwich, choose a place that is quiet, calm, open to sunlight during the first half of the day and shaded in the afternoon. The greens of these varieties are tender and will simply burn out in the scorching sun.
Do not despair if you do not find such a place, you can beat the situation by planting parsley universal variety in the aisles of any other crops that do not need to be sprayed with pesticides.
Watering green spaces, preferably in the evening, with warm water settled in a barrel. Abundant watering of common parsley is required three times a week, on other days, small doses of moisture can be dispensed with.
Like all plants, leaf parsley loves good air exchange in the soil and nitrogen fertilizers. Do not forget to loosen the row spacing, avoiding the formation of cracks in the soil.
Weed according to your personal schedule and according to the intensity of weed growth.
In order for parsley to be bushy and lush, it needs to be thinned out. Do not forget to cut off the flower stalks if you do not plan to collect seeds, as the inflorescences take up to 50% of the nutrients from the root, robbing the green foliage. During the flowering period, parsley leaves become stiff and acquire a bitter taste.
Parsley does not like carrots, so it is better to exclude their neighborhood in advance, at the stage of sowing two crops.
Nitrogenous fertilizers, superphosphate are applied once or twice a month, do not forget about potash supplements, any greenery with them grows by leaps and bounds. It is possible to use and organic fertilizers, but at a short distance from the bush, so as not to burn the greens and the root of the plant.
If you want to get quick shoots of sandwich and curly parsley, you should cover the crops for a week with a transparent plastic film, and after the first bushes appear, remove the film, thin out the thick shoots and apply mineral fertilizers. And in two weeks it will appear on your table fragrant greens leaf parsley.
Leaf parsley diseases
An experienced gardener knows that checking plants for disease is an important step for the overall yield of the yard. Often diseases affecting parsley pass to other garden crops. And parsley has enough diseases, consider the most common ones.
Fungal disease - white rot. Appears with a decrease in temperature and abundant watering. Looks like white coating on the neck of the plant, it affects the root. Tip: do not flood the plants, the water should not stand in the garden after watering. The fight against the disease consists in the treatment of plants with fungicides and the adjustment of soil air exchange.
Rust - often affects only the leaves in the form of a rusty coating, spoils appearance and causes the plant to dry out. It is treated with fungicides, as it is a fungus.
Penosporosis or false powdery mildew- affects the leaves, pale yellow spots and leads to the death of the plant. To avoid damage to plantings, pollinate the beds with sulfur powder. Spray with Bordeaux liquid.
White spotting - spreads in brown spots, merging into large areas of green leaf damage. Spraying Bordeaux liquid and removing infected parts of the plant will help in the fight against the disease.
Leaf cercosporosis - stands out with dirty brown spots. Treatment: pruning of the affected parts of the plant, treatment with fungicides, compliance sanitary norms pre-sowing preparation.
Stem nemotad, carrot leaf blotch and melon aphid, are also not averse to feasting on leaf parsley. Biological means of protection act as a united front against insect pests. Read about this in the article: chemical and biological plant protection products.
How to grow leaf parsley in an apartment?
Very simple. To start, choose appropriate place, for example, an insulated balcony or window sill. Sunlight plants should have enough throughout the daylight hours. Then decide on a parsley variety.
Take plastic containers or any other container suitable for your needs, fill it with soil (chernozem, humus, potassium), make small indentations in the soil and boldly sow the seeds. After watering, only carefully, avoiding erosion of the soil with seeds.
You can also plant root parsley, just stick the parsley root into the already prepared soil and water it. Fertilize once a month with ammonium nitrate and superphosphate.
Collection and storage of leaf parsley
Even a child can cope with the cultivation of leaf parsley. But there are certain rules, subject to which you will get a good harvest. If you need to make preparations for the winter, better fit parsley of the second year of vegetation. Since the leaves of a more mature plant are larger, denser and tougher. They are ideal for freezing, and when defrosted, they will slightly lose their shape.
Most varieties of leaf parsley are suitable for harvesting two to three months after the first shoots appear. Starting to collect greens, cut it at the very base, under the root.
If we are not talking about completely cutting off a bush of greenery, start cutting from the outer branches, not the middle ones. This will stimulate the plant to produce more lush greenery for the next harvest.
Parsley is one of the few plants that constantly needs to be pruned to keep the foliage tender. Therefore, collect greens at least twice a week.
At the end of the summer season, you can start harvesting the entire parsley crop. Do not leave parsley unharvested, otherwise it will be less lush next year and may even get sick.
Each hostess stores parsley in her own way. Someone prefers to chop and freeze the greens for the winter, others preserve it along with sorrel, using it later to season soups, some chop the greens and dry it.
Parsley retains its aroma and color for a long time proper storage in a refrigerator. To do this, wrap the greens with cling film, after sprinkling with water, and put in the refrigerator. So the greens will remain "fresh" for a week.
Similarly, you can store parsley without polyethylene film, just put the collected greens in a vegetable basket, and wrap the stems with a damp paper towel.
An interesting way to store parsley is to freeze it in molds. Arrange the leaves of greens in forms, fill with water and freeze, and use if necessary.
For storage, you can dry the parsley without chopping it, simply tying the sprigs of greenery together and hanging them in a place well lit by the sun. Then collect in a cloth bag. Such parsley will be less fragrant, but will be stored for years.
Parsley is amazing useful plant, which does not need the constant presence of a gardener on the site. You can easily grow and harvest your own leafy parsley with the right approach.
Parsley is very popular in summer cottages and household plots vegetable culture. Depending on what part of the plant is used for food, there are two types of this crop:
- Leafy - juicy and tender, with a characteristic taste, leaves are eaten. There are two types of parsley: regular and curly. The usual is used for the preparation of salads, preserves, seasonings. Curly (curly) subspecies, in addition to food purposes, is used to decorate various dishes;
- Root - both leaves and the underground part of the culture (root crop) are eaten. Used for salads, preserves, as a seasoning for main dishes.
Agrotechnical requirements
Leaf parsley is one of the most common green crops.
Main agrotechnical requirements of this culture are:
- Predecessors - cucumber, tomatoes, garlic, onions, cabbage, early potatoes. The culture grows and develops poorly when re-sowing in the same area for several years, as well as when placed after celery, dill;
- Soils are loose, sandy and light loamy, with high content nutrients and humus and acidity close to neutral;
- Soil moisture - the soil should be well moistened, with a deep bedding ground water and lack of perch;
- Illumination - the area for growing crops should be well lit during daylight hours. When sown in a heavily shaded area, the culture gives unfriendly seedlings, develops poorly;
- The minimum temperature for emergence of seedlings is +3+4 C0;
- The optimum temperature for further growth and development is +15+17 С0.
In addition to open ground, you can grow fragrant and juicy parsley in a greenhouse, in winter - in pots on a windowsill.
culture propagation
healthy parsley seeds
This culture is propagated in the following ways:
- Seeds - for this, processed seeds collected from the testis or purchased in a store are sown in open ground, a seedling box, a greenhouse. This is the most common and easiest way to propagate this crop, allowing you to get high yields of greens and root crops. For forcing early and mature seedlings of this crop, there is nothing better than planting parsley at home - in special pots and containers. The resulting seedlings give stronger, high-yielding plants that are resistant to diseases and pests;
- Roots - dug out, sorted and stored in the basement, the roots are planted in a separate area. This method is used to lay a testis - a site from which seeds will be collected in the future.
Sowing seeds
It is known that the yield of any crop depends primarily on the quality seed. So, if the cultivation of parsley by growing from seeds is chosen, then it is taken into account that their germination persists for 3 years. When purchasing seeds in a store, they pay attention to their expiration date, as well as how parsley seeds look, their quality. Oblong seeds should be grayish-green in color, have a specific tart aroma.
To get a friendly seed sprout, a few days before planting they are disinfected and germinated as follows:
- For germination by soaking, water at room temperature (+19+22) C0 is used, in which the seeds are first kept for 2-3 days, and then dried for 20-30 minutes. If the field of such soaking seeds "hatched" (small green seedlings are visible), they can be sown in the ground. Often practiced over effective method soaking. A wet gauze napkin is placed at the bottom of a small saucer, seeds are scattered evenly on it. The appearance of sprouts accelerates the use of such growth stimulants as "Epin", "Kornevin". Often the seeds need to be greened by placing the container with them in a place well lit by the sun;
Germination of seeds is a mandatory method of preparing parsley seeds
Advice. In order to remove the film of essential oils that prevents germination from the surface of the seeds, they are soaked in hot water (60-700), a solution of hydrogen peroxide. Some practice soaking in alcohol-containing liquids: vodka, diluted medical alcohol, using such property as the rapid dissolution of the essential oil film upon short contact with it.
- For disinfection, parsley seeds are soaked in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for 20-25 minutes. After disinfection, the seed material is thoroughly washed under cold running water for 20-30 minutes. Washing the seeds is necessary to remove the remnants of the disinfectant solution - a delay in growth and development, low germination can be caused precisely by the remnants of the solution on the surface of the seeds.
Important! There are now a wide variety of websites and blogs on the Internet that tell you how to quickly germinate parsley in three hours and get fantastic sprouts by soaking the seeds in milk and sprinkling lime on the soil. Since there is not a single confirmation that parsley sprouts in 3 hours, this method experienced gardeners do not apply.
Parsley is planted with seeds, both in open ground and in a greenhouse, a box for forcing seedlings.
When sowing in the soil of the plot (the soil of the seedling container), they carefully loosen, make grooves, fill them with germinated seeds, carefully sprinkle with earth, and water abundantly. The sowing depth on light soils is 3.0-3.5 cm, on loamy soils it is 1.5-2.0 cm. ) or in a simple ordinary way (with a row spacing of 30 cm.)
Parsley, row sown
With a small area and very light soil, the seeds are simply scattered over the surface of the soil and watered from a watering can.
The time for sowing seeds is early spring (end of April-May), as the soil warms up to a temperature of +4-+50. Parsley is also often sown in the summer - in mid-July-early August.
Advice. To increase germination, parsley is often sown before winter, 10-15 days before the onset of frost (early November)
Planting seedlings
Despite the unpretentiousness of parsley, its cultivation in seedlings is troublesome. Starting this work in March.
Purchase or prepare in advance:
- soil (a mixture of 1 part peat, 1 part leaf humus, 2 parts garden soil);
- containers (boxes, trays), up to 30 cm deep, for planting seeds;
- peat pots for seedlings.
Now consider how to plant parsley seedlings:
- A drainage layer (2-3 cm) of small pebbles, expanded clay, coarse sand is laid on the bottom of the container (box, tray). On top of the drainage, the container is filled with soil, leaving a distance of 2-3 cm to the edge of the box;
- Germinated (dry) seeds are deepened by no more than 0.5 cm, sprinkled with a layer of loose earth and watered. Then the container is covered with a film, placed in a dark and warm place (boiler room, dark room next to the oven). As soon as the seeds begin to germinate, the film is removed, and the container is placed on a well-lit window;
Containers for growing parsley seedlings
- With the advent of the 4th leaf (not counting the 2 very first), each plant is carefully transplanted into a separate peat pot(you can in another container). Parsley loves a long daylight hours (up to 12 hours), so the location of seedlings in early spring is equipped with special fluorescent lamps. The optimum temperature for the growth of seedlings is + 15 + 20 C0. At this stage, watering is important, both drying of the soil and its waterlogging are not allowed. Usually irrigation of seedlings, watering seedlings is carried out 2 times a week;
- When the seedling is well rooted, and the stem of the plant reaches 7-8 cm (which will take 1.5-2 months), in early May, seedlings are planted from a pot in open ground or a greenhouse.
The choice of planting scheme is influenced by the variety and type of parsley. So, seedlings of leaf parsley must be planted at a distance of 20 cm from each other, and the aisle is left 40-50 cm. But it is important not only to plant seedlings on time, sow seeds, the plant needs care and attention.
On a note. Many residents multi-storey buildings in the absence of dachas, there is no other choice but to grow parsley at home. To do this, use long containers filled with humus, soil, bulky pots. In summer, they are put on a well-lit window sill of the southern or eastern windows, and in winter and spring, special lamps are used with a spectrum of light close to the sun. At the same time, understanding how to plant parsley at home, they are guided by the seedling forcing technology given above.
Parsley on the windowsill of the apartment
In addition to getting greens for salads, many apartment owners plant parsley to decorate windows - rich green shoots will look very good and please the eye of the owner of the apartment, especially when winter is outside with its solid white monotony.
culture care
Like any culture, parsley throughout the season requires good care consisting of activities such as:
- Timely watering;
- Loosening the soil;
- Top dressing with mineral fertilizers;
- Weeding and weed control;
- thinning.
Watering
How often and intensively water parsley depends on the weather. Watering should be moderate and timely, it should be done in the evening or early morning. Parsley is watered with rainwater, well water, settled and warmed up in the sun. It is not recommended to use highly chlorinated or iron-rich tap water. Also, water from highly mineralized wells is not suitable for irrigation.
Soil loosening
For normal access of air to the root system, to prevent the formation of a soil crust, to reduce the drying out of the soil, several times per season loosen the surface layer of the soil to a depth of 2-3 cm.
Loosening the soil of parsley plantings is the most important technique for caring for the crop
Unscheduled loosening produce:
- After heavy rains - loosening after heavy rains is necessary in order to destroy the resulting crust, which does not allow air to pass through well, contributes to stagnation of water and "blooming" of the soil;
- In case of severe drought, periodic loosening of the soil in this case makes it possible to break the resulting soil capillaries, through which active evaporation of soil moisture and drying of the soil occur;
- With a cold snap, this will help to restrain the germination and development of weeds that are less demanding on conditions.
When loosening, the soil between the rows is cultivated, they are not loosened near the plants themselves, so as not to damage the shallow root system.
Used for loosening manual cultivators, choppers, flat cutters with a well-sharpened working part.
On a note. With the scattered method of sowing parsley, loosening is carried out after thinning the plantation.
top dressing
No matter how fertile soil parsley is cultivated, without making mineral fertilizers not enough. During the season, two top dressings are made:
Foliar top dressing of parsley with nitrogen fertilizers
The first top dressing is carried out in a foliar way, dissolving fertilizers in the water intended for irrigation. The second top dressing is carried out by spreading fertilizers directly into the soil before loosening the row spacing.
Weeding and weed control
Seeds can sprout quickly and amicably, but often weeds make it very difficult to continue growing. They create shade, take from the ground useful material, become a haven for many pests. Parsley needs constant manual weeding until the leaves close tightly and the weed seedlings under them are suppressed. How on summer cottages, and in the conditions of farms, chemical weeding of this green crop is not used.
thinning
Often, parsley is sown with seeds immediately in open ground. If it sprouts together, then the extra sprouts are also removed like weeds.
During the whole season, two thinnings are made:
- The first thinning is performed when 2-3 leaves have formed in the seedlings, they are thinned out so that there is a distance of 3 cm between young bushes;
- The second thinning is done when the plants have 7-8 leaves. At the same time, a distance of 5-6 cm is left between plants.
When thinning the parsley allotment, the plants are removed, grabbing them near the very surface of the soil and pulling them out with a neat, not abrupt movement. This is necessary so that when removing plants that thicken the row, do not damage neighboring ones. Plants removed from the garden are not left in the garden, but placed in a compost pit.
On a note. Parsley has a lot of valuable and healing properties for a person: for example, it helps to normalize digestion, improves blood formation, improves immunity and male potency. However, there are some contraindications: doctors do not recommend using it for people with kidney disease, it should be excluded from the diet for gout. The therapeutic effect is not only parsley, but also its seeds. Any pharmacy can offer its customers packages of dry seeds that can be bought for little money.
Thus, parsley is a very valuable and useful vegetable crop. Thanks to the simple technology of cultivation and high yield, it is found in the beds of almost all summer residents and owners of personal plots. However, despite the simplicity of parsley farming, it must be followed very carefully, ignoring, for example, such untenable advice on how to germinate parsley in 3 hours and get fantastically fast shoots. It should be remembered that, like all vegetable crops, she loves work and patience and will not “reward” the gardener with a harvest with a conniving and inattentive attitude towards herself.
More and more often people buy seeds in stores and markets, for new varieties or hybrids this is justified, but why buy seeds of your favorite, annually grown plants. Self-collected seeds not only are not inferior to purchased ones, but also have some advantages over them.
The fact is that a plant growing in local conditions gradually, year after year, adapts to specific climatic conditions, the so-called acclimatization of the plant occurs - the zoning of the variety. That is why plants from "family" seeds give a more friendly and stable harvest.
You can independently collect seeds from almost all the main crops grown in our beds, the only exceptions are hybrids, from which, as a rule, nothing good comes out next year.
Harvesting tomato seeds
Only fruits from the most healthy and productive bush, from the first, second or third brush, go to seeds. Externally selected tomatoes should most resemble the representatives of this variety, have no damage, flaws and signs of the disease.
Seed tomatoes are kept on the bush until they are fully biologically ripe. Then they tear it off, cut it in half and from the seed chambers, with a teaspoon, scrape out the pulp with seeds, this slurry is placed in a cup, covered, from midges, with a napkin or saucer and put in a warm, dark place for about 2-3 days for fermentation, periodically shake the contents . Do not be afraid that the seeds will germinate ahead of time, the special enzymes contained in the pulp will not allow them to do this.
After fermentation, the seeds settle to the bottom, with the help of running water they are easy to separate from the pulp. Immediately after washing, the seeds are laid out on a napkin or paper towel and dry. Damaged and dark ones are removed. It is desirable that there are no sticky seeds, for this they are ground together.
Harvesting cucumber seeds
The most overripe fruits are used for seeds, they are also called yellows among the people. The fruits are kept on the bush until the last, then plucked and stored for another 1-2 weeks. The best seeds are obtained from the middle part of the cucumber, for this they are removed together with the pulp into a container, a little water is added and left for 3-4 days for fermentation, then washed clean water, remove the damaged ones, dry them, and grind them so that they do not stick together.
harvesting pumpkin seeds
If the pumpkin is fully ripe, and the stalk itself has separated, then the seeds are immediately removed, dried and ground. If it did not have time to ripen, then the pumpkin is ripened, together with the stalk, at a temperature of 20-25 ° C, for 3-4 months, and then the seeds are removed.
Harvesting zucchini seeds
Zucchini are allowed to ripen in the room and room temperature within 1-2 months. Seeds are removed, dried and crushed.
Harvesting pea seeds
Peas are kept in the garden until the lower leaves and pods turn brown, after which the bushes are plucked and dried in a dry, shady place. Peas are peeled from dry pods and scattered in a thin layer on a fine-mesh sieve or canvas and dried for several more days.
Harvesting seeds of carrots, parsley, beets
The seeds of these root crops can only be obtained from biennial plants. To do this, they are dug up and stored in a cellar or other cool place, and with the onset of spring, around the end of April, the best-preserved plants are planted in the ground.
After some time, the plants bloom, carrots and parsley form flower stalks in the form of an umbrella, and beets in the form of arrows.
When carrot umbrellas will acquire Brown color and begin to close, they are cut off, placed in gauze bags and dried in the shade, under a canopy. It is desirable to harvest seeds from the first, central, peduncles, they are larger there and have better germination.
Parsley umbrellas are harvested as soon as the seeds begin to crumble, so as not to miss this moment, they can be placed in a gauze bag in advance. They are dried in the same way as carrots.
The browning of arrows in beets is a sure sign of seed readiness, the testes are cut and dried in the shade, under a canopy or in the attic.
After drying, all seeds must be thoroughly rubbed together and winnowed.
Harvesting pepper seeds
Only biologically ripe fruits are suitable for obtaining pepper seeds, correct form and with the characteristic features of this variety. The fruits are plucked and left for several days indoors at room temperature. Then cut the top cap of the pepper in a circle, take it out along with the seeds and lay it out to dry. Well-dried seeds crumble on their own. If, when bent, the grain breaks, and does not bend, then drying is considered completed.
Seed storage
Self-collected seeds, before planting in the ground, must be disinfected by heat treatment, or by soaking them in a 1-2% solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate).
To collect your own seeds of the varieties you have tested, you need to know some of the subtleties of their harvesting and the process of growing plants for seeds. Healthy and beautiful fruits will suit you. The soil under the plants left to seed should not be too thick, so that the growing season is not lengthened and the seeds have time to ripen. It is important to plant plants for seeds separately from other varieties of this crop.
legume seeds harvested from mature yellowed pods. To do this, carefully remove the largest, regular-shaped kernels from the pods, dry them and store them in folded paper bags until spring in a cool, dry place.
radish seeds can be obtained in several ways.
I method: in a mature root crop, the leaves are cut to the level of the soil and only the upper growth part is left and the root is cut halfway, then the radish is transplanted to a new place.
Method II: the central leaf is left, the root is not cut off, and the radish itself is soiled with clay mash before planting. They begin to collect only when the pods turn yellow and the seeds turn brown.
lettuce seeds. for seeds, they are sown in a greenhouse in mid-March, and at the end of May, seedlings are transferred to open ground. When transplanting, sick plants and with an arrow are thrown out, and in varieties of head lettuce, without the formation of a head. Seed ripening is determined by When white bats appear in the inflorescence and the stem turns yellow, it's time to collect the seeds. After collection, the seeds are laid out on paper and dried for 2-3 days, then gently rubbed and selected.
Pumpkin and nightshade seeds easy to obtain from ripe and healthy, unblemished fruits. However, the seeds tomatoes and cucumbers they take it out of the fruit with pulp and, after allowing them to ferment for several days, wash and dry. seeds , zucchini, etc. fermentation is not required. After being removed from the ripe fruit, they are washed and dried immediately.
Often several varieties of such vegetables are planted on the site. Therefore, only artificial pollination will help to obtain seeds of the desired variety. To do this, in the evening, large, but not blossoming buds of a male and female flower are selected on the plant and tied with gauze. The next morning the gauze is untied, male flower tear off and touch it with the stamens of the pistil of the female flower. Then the pollinated female flower is again tied with gauze and removed only when the fetus begins to develop and grow under it.
onion seeds received in several stages. First, onion sets are grown from seeds in the summer. The following year, a turnip is obtained from the planted onion sets, which gives an arrow with real seeds. It is easier to release an arrow onion, frozen before planting or onion, which was placed in a warm and humid environment 2-3 weeks before planting. Seeds that are easily shed from the seed pods are considered mature. But in a cold and rainy summer, without waiting for the seeds to fully ripen, the arrows are cut and dried in a dry, ventilated room.
seedsgarlic, like onion seeds, they are obtained from the arrow of an adult plant. To do this, before winter, after the first frost, garlic bulbs are sown on the beds. Over the summer, single-toothed garlic grows from them, which are planted before winter, and next summer they get real adult garlic.
Seeds of carrots, beets, celery, root parsley, white cabbage, turnips and radishes obtained only from well-ripened root crops, i.e. next year after harvesting and winter storage. To get roots for seeds, seeds carrots planted in the soil in mid or late June. During the harvest, the most healthy, medium-sized root crops are selected, which, sprinkled with sand, are stored in cellars at temperatures from 0 to + 2 ° C. In the spring, 1.5 weeks before planting, the root crops are carefully sorted out and the rest put in a warm place. At the end of April, beginning of May, healthy root crops with slightly overgrown greens are planted in the beds. So that the flower stalks that appear on the carrots do not break, they are tied up, and since July, the umbrellas that are again tied on the flower stalks are cut off. They collect carrot seeds selectively, knowing that the best ones are located on the edge of the umbrella in its southern half. To dry the seeds, choose a dry, well-ventilated place. After drying, the seeds are threshed, ground and winnowed.
seeds obtained in the same way as carrot seeds. But, since parsley can be root and leaf, they must be planted away from each other so that they do not pollinate. In root parsley, a strong, unbranched root crop with smooth leaves is left for seeds. And in leaf parsley, such root crops are chosen, the leaves of which are corrugated more than others.
white cabbage seeds obtained not from the root, but from the stalk. To do this, the heads of cabbage that have wintered in the basement are taken out at the end of March or the beginning of April and the stalk is cut out of them, trying not to damage the apical bud. If bud germination began in the basement, then such stalk is planted in open ground in a shady place, and grown until green. After that, the cabbage, along with a clod of earth, is transplanted to a permanent place. Summer care behind them is frequent loosening, hilling, watering and tying peduncles. When the required number of pods is tied, the rest are pinched. Clean up and side shoots so that only the main one remains. Harvest the pods when the seeds turn dark brown and the pods turn yellowish with a slight redness. After harvesting, the seeds are dried in a dark, cool place. Seeds that fall out of the pods on their own during harvesting are considered the best.
For beloved gardening readers.
