Planting Parsley Seeds Indoors
Planting Parsley seeds can be a great first step in your foray into herb gardening. This perennial herb is one of the most versatile and useful of all herbs. You can eat parsley as a salad or cooked into dishes, as a spice, a dressing or a herb supplement. Growing this herb in your garden will be a great learning experience. If you are just starting to explore the pleasures of herb gardening, this first step may well motivate you to explore further.
Before planting parsley seeds, make sure your soil is well-drained. A typical healthy lawn that is planted with good quality soil can be completely ruined by excessive amounts of fertilizer. An ideal pH level for Parsley seeds is somewhere between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit (16 and 18 C). Because the soil will not be too hot or too cold, the seeds will not be destroyed by the cold weather. The soil should be relatively dry before you place the seedlings in.
After planting parsley seeds, you should make sure they get a sufficient amount of light and warmth so that they can grow properly. Parsley leaves and stems are normally eaten right after they are plucked from the plant but you can put them into a compost pile to germinate. The best compost to use to germinate your plants is one made from pine needles and manure. The addition of sawdust or composted garden waste, leaves and other small, dry plant materials will speed up the growth of your herb plants and make your job less of a chore!
Parsley leaves and stems can be tossed into a compost pile to germinate. For optimum germination, keep the pile near an area where you’ll be harvesting green waste. A sunny window space is also ideal. The timing and climate for growing herbs can be different depending on the individual plant type. For example, a mint plant will need to be planted about a foot away from its eventual potting surface while a sun loving plant can be planted as soon as it has sprouted new leaves.
Before planting parsley seeds, you must prepare the soil. This task can be done with a garden soil raker or a trowel. Remove any weeds and then add coarse sand or peat moss to the dirt. If you live in a part of the country that has clay soil, you will need to add a light sand/peat mix first. These two ingredients are extremely helpful in giving the soil the right nutrients it needs for growing herbs. Also, these two ingredients are excellent for helping to aerate the soil and improve drainage.
Once you’ve prepared the soil, the next step of planting parsley seeds is to make sure the sprouts are well established. The best way to achieve this is to make sure the sprouts are planted deeply, about one to two inches below the previous layer of soil. The germination process will take at least a week. You can speed up the process with the aid of a cold roller or a hot wheel.
For planting parsley plantings, you’ll also need to add fertilizer to help the herb grow properly. Make sure the fertilizer isn’t too harsh; however, it should also be rich soil with high organic matter. Buy or pick fresh compost when you can. This rich soil should be mixed with a small amount of composted kitchen scraps. Fertilizer should be applied every two weeks during the growing season.
If you’re planting seeds indoors, you’ll need to mist the garden once every couple of days during the growing season. Misting the garden won’t help much if your plants have already sprouted. In the summer, you can mist frequently throughout the day, but using a fan while you mist won’t harm the plant as much. After you have planted your seeds, you may see growth on the sprouts. This is okay – the growth will help the plant get established and moisture will be retained in its new environment.