Parsley

I’m usually interested in what I’ve accomplished, but even I’m getting tired of reviewing 2011. Let’s talk about something else. My most recent article for Smith Lake Living Magazine was about winter herbs, and you can read it on this page. In the article I discuss the super food qualities of my favorite winter herb, parsley, but I just learned something new; it’s also a great detox-er. And following the season of cheer with a season of dieting and healthy resolutions is a long tradition that I’m not about to brake. 

Above is what my 4 x 8 feet parsley bed looks like in January. The large plants are what I’ve been harvesting since mid-summer. In early spring I’ll let two of these plants go to seed. The flowers attract beneficial insects, and letting the seed mature insures I’ll never buy parsley plants or seed again. The small plants at the back of the bed were seedlings moved here last fall. Next January they will look just like the large plants.

This is how thick the seedlings come up. Instead of trying to thin this mess, I transplanted the nicest ones to the bed in the previous picture. I also gave away clumps to friends or picked out seedlings and potted them into individual containers. In spring, I will close my eyes and hoe the remaining plants into the soil. I get through it by remembering crop rotation is important, and I already have an entire bed of parsley for 2012, so I don’t need anymore.

A large parsley plant just after harvest. I cut the large outer leaves, and let the center keep growing so I can harvest again in early summer.

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I had mixed feelings last summer as I sat on the front porch and watched the swallowtail butterfly flit among my parsley plants. I had a pretty good idea what she was up to. I’m not going to lie, her babies did some damage. There were a few plant casualties, but many made it through. That’s all the more reason to plant lots of parsley in many different areas of your garden. The caterpillars won’t find it all. And even though it is annoying to watch a nice big plant become a bunch of bare stems, please leave the caterpillars alone. They are an important food source for baby birds, and the butterflies bring fluttering beauty to the summer garden. 

These two images are the same butterfly. I’m not sure what type of butterfly this is, so I don’t mean to imply it is the adult of the caterpillar that eats my parsley. I just felt the post needed some butterfly pictures.