Читать книгу Your Herb Garden - Barbara Segall - Страница 53
PARSLEY
Оглавление(Petroselinum crispum – Umbelliferae)
Parsley’s aromatic and vitamin-rich leaves have long been used to add a distinctive, mildly spicy flavour to salads and cooked food. Grow it indoors in containers; outdoors as a herb hedge.
| type | Hardy biennial |
| flowers | Greenish-yellow flowers in summer of second year. Remove flower stems to promote leaf production |
| leaves | Mid-green, flat and deeply cut or tightly curled and mossy |
| height | 30cm (12in) before flowering, with flowering stalk to 60cm (24in) |
| spread | 20cm (8in) |
| planting | Sow indoors in early spring in seed trays or pots. Seeds need a temperature of 21–27°C (70–80°F) for up to three weeks before germination will take place. Transplant to a spacing of 20cm (8in). Sow into the growing site early autumn or late spring when the soil is warm and thin out as the seedlings grow |
| position | Warm with some shade |
| soil | Moist, enriched with compost or well-rotted manure |
| care | Water in dry conditions, keep weed free, and in severe winters cover with cloches to keep leaf flavour. Nip out any flowering stems in the second year to prevent seed production and continue leaf harvest |
| propagation | From seed only. Allow some plants to produce seed and self sow. Sow several times a year to ensure a good supply of flavoursome fresh leaves |
| species and varieties | Petroselinum crispum ‘Neapolitanum’, also called French or Italian parsley, has flat leaves and a strong flavour. P.c. ‘Tuberosum’ or Hamburg parsley has good leaf flavour but is grown mainly for its roots |
| harvest | Pick leaves all through the year as they are needed, but they are at their peak in summer of the first year. Best used fresh or frozen. Freeze chopped into water in ice-cube trays or whole, sealed in freezer bags. Can be dried, but needs to be dried quickly in a cool oven to keep a flavour and colour |
| herbal value | Leaves are used to flavour soups, sauces and salads. Classic ingredient of bouquet garni. Used as a garnish and to make herbal tea. Hamburg parsley roots are used in stews and have similar flavour to the root vegetable celeriac. Mix 25g (1 oz) crushed, fresh parsley with 15g (½oz) clear honey to make a face mask. Wash your face, pat it dry and then apply the sticky paste. Leave in place for 15–20 minutes then rinse off using warm water |
