Takes a light frost. Start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost; plant out up to 2 weeks after your last frost; sow outdoors up to 2 weeks after your last frost. First harvest 70 to 90 days from sowing.
Photo: “Petroselinum crispum Gigante d'Italia 2023-05-08 4847” by Salicyna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.
Put in your ZIP code to see when to start, plant and harvest parsley where you live, from your own frost dates.
SowSeed goes inWeek 0
SproutFirst shoots showWeek 2–5
True leavesFirst real leavesWeek 5–7
Thin or plant outGive each plant roomWeek 6–8
Leaf growthLeaves fill outWeek 8–10
HarvestReady to pickWeek 10–13Parsley is slow to sprout. Soak seed in warm water overnight, up to a day, before sowing.
Sow seed 1/8 inch deep six to eight weeks before last frost. Expect two to five weeks before seedlings appear.
Set plants out or sow outdoors once frost danger has passed. Handle gently to protect the taproot.
Thin or set plants 10 to 12 inches apart when they are 2 to 3 inches tall.
Water deeply at least once a week and do not let plants dry out completely.
Cut outer stalks near the ground and let the center keep growing. Plants handle light frost.
Parsley is a biennial. In its second year it flowers and the leaves turn bitter, so start new plants each spring.
What you'll see: Plump green caterpillars banded in black with yellow dots eat parsley, dill, fennel and parsnip leaves. They grow into black swallowtail butterflies.
What you'll see: Clusters of small, soft-bodied green, black or gray insects on new shoots and under leaves. Leaves curl, and a sticky film may coat them.
Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.
What you'll see: Seedlings fail to come up, or fall over and die with a thin, water-soaked stem at the soil line.
What you'll see: The plant sends up a flower stalk early, and the leaves turn small and bitter. Long days and heat set it off, and in bok choy and other cabbage-family greens so can a late frost or a week of nights below 50 °F.
Read and follow the product label: it is the law. It sets the rate, the crops it is for, and the days between spraying and picking. Products registered vary by state; for organic growing, look for products allowed under the USDA National Organic Program (OMRI Listed). We name active ingredients, not brands or rates.
Growing more than you can eat? Sell it at a farm stand. TallyTill takes cards and keeps count of what sells, and the Stand plan is free.
Get started with TallyTill for freePlanting dates and growing facts checked against these university extension and USDA pages:
Growth-stage drawings: TallyTill.
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