Italian Plain Leaf Parsley Seeds

Days to Maturity: 60

Specially developed for use as fresh seasoning, this flat-leaf parlsey offers large, bright green leaves on compact plants. Far more nutritious than its curly-leafed cousin, flat-leaf parsley is easy to grow and looks good enough to grow among flowering annuals as well as in the herb garden.

The large foliage arises on plants that reach only 10 to 12 inches high and wide. You can begin to harvest the individual leaves about 2 months after setting out transplants, or cut the entire plant at the base and harvest at once (easier for dried spices). Italian Plain Leaf is a great cut-and-come-again variety, a staple of your kitchen herb garden that you will appreciate all season long.

Flat-leafed parsley is far more nutritious than the curly type, and is easier to prepare for adding to dishes. The large, flat leaves mince easily, and can be snipped in seconds.

Parsley is a biennial, but the second year the plant will flower early, and once the blooms appear, the flavor of the foliage becomes bitter. Grow this herb as an annual, and enjoy a long, long season of glory in the sunny garden, annual bed, and your best containers.

Parsley seeds take a while to get going, so you may want to soak them overnight before sowing. If you're beginning them indoors, be sure to transplant them as soon as they have two sets of true leaves (and the soil is warm), because they have a long root and resent being transplanted once they have begun to leaf out. If you're growing them in a pot for the kitchen window, select a container that is long and narrow rather than wide and shallow, to give the root room to run.