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Overview
Parsley is a biennial plant, but it is usually grown as an annual because it bolts to seed so quickly the second year. Although parsley is a very attractive plant, it is generally grown as a culinary herb and often wasted as a garnish or plate decoration. Parsley can be difficult to start from seed, but the established seedlings are easy, quick growers.
Exposure
Full Sun / Partial Shade
Parsely requires a good amount of light and will do best when receiving around 6 hours of sun a day but will tolerate partial shade.
Growing Indoors
Starting parsley from seed is slow. It can take several weeks for the seeds to germinate. Pre-chilling the seed in the refrigerator and then soaking the seed overnight in warm water, before planting, helps speed the process slightly and gives better germination results.
Seed can be started indoors about 6 weeks before the last frost date or sown outdoors, once the ground can be worked. Plant in a rich, loamy soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Parsley can tolerate wet soils, once established, but to thrive it needs good drainage.
Sow rows about 10-12" apart, barely covering the seed. Thin plants to every 6", once they are about 1-3" tall.
Parsley can be grown fairly well in pots, however parsley has a tap root that can get fairly long and a mature plant can easily reach 2-3' in height and 1-2' in width, so a large pot is needed.
Just remember to keep the growing medium moist especially if the container is made of terracotta as they will dry out more quickly. To reduce the chance of this happening line the pot with polythene, a plastic bag will do before filling with your chosen growing medium and place in a sunny spot.
Harvesting
You can begin harvesting parsley when it is about 6" tall and relatively full. Cut as needed, but try not to remove more than 1/3 of the leaves at a time. Harvest whole stems, from the base of the plant, to encourage more growth.
You can cut and dry the leaves remaining at the end of the season or leave the plants in the ground and try to get more use from the plants the following spring. Although parsley is biennial, most people find the leaves too bitter the second year and the flower stalks will grow surprisingly fast. However, they may hold you over until your new crop is mature enough to harvest.
Information courtesy of Marie Iannotti, About.com Guide
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