Organic Parsley: Italian Giant.

Description

Organic Parsley: Italian Giant. Petroselinum crispum.

Italian giant parsley grows well here in Ireland despite hailing from warm Italy. This is a high yielding variety growing to around 75cms tall. Really yummy and strong for flavouring cooked dishes of all kinds.

How to grow:
Sow fresh seed, this is the most important part. Germination can be slow or erratic so be patient. Can start as early as February in modules on heat undercover and plant out in May. Or direct sow thin and wide into a well prepared seed bed in May. It’s biennial here so you can get winter and next spring from them if they’re grown under cover. Grow in full sun.

Problem solving:
Keep slugs off when young. It does prefer to have warm feet but not to the point of drying out. Water from below.

Favourite ways to eat them:
An essential ingredient in many dishes, soups, stews, as a garnish. Reported to have a soothing effect on a sensitive stomach and a mouthful of raw leaves counteracts the effects of garlic breath. Caution with large quantities if you’re pregnant.

Cultural history:
A biennial plant here in the north, it is an annual in subtropical and tropical areas. Flat leaf parsley is closer to the wild relations than curly. Originally from the Mediterranean area it has been cultivated for centuries.

Approx 650 seeds per gram.