How to grow parsley in Australia 🌿

Parsley is biennial — it produces leaves for 12–18 months, then flowers, sets seed, and dies. Plant it in autumn or spring for the longest productive period.

Parsley can be grown from seed or seedlings. Seeds germinate slowly — 2–4 weeks — and have a reputation for being unreliable. Seedlings are the practical choice for most home gardeners.

Spacing: 20–25cm between plants.

Depth: Sow seeds 5mm deep. Pre-soak seeds for 12 hours before sowing to speed germination.

Soil: Rich, well-drained soil with plenty of compost. Slightly alkaline pH (6.5–7.0) preferred.

Patience with germination: The slow germination of parsley is normal — there's an old gardener's saying that parsley seed goes "seven times to the devil and back" before sprouting. Keep the soil consistently moist for the full 2–4 weeks.

Parsley grows well in all three options.

In-ground works for larger plantings.

Raised beds suit parsley well.

Pots are an excellent home for parsley. A 25cm wide pot supports 2–3 plants for a productive year-long supply. Wide rather than deep is preferred. Position in any sunny to partly shaded spot. Pots can be moved indoors in cold climates to extend the season — a pot of parsley on a kitchen windowsill in Hobart provides fresh herbs through winter.

Full sun to part shade — 4 to 8 hours daily. Parsley tolerates more shade than most herbs.

Water consistently. Parsley wilts when dry but recovers quickly.

Cut outer stems at the base of the plant — within 2cm of the soil — leaving the central growing point intact. New leaves emerge from the centre as long as the plant remains in leaf production mode.

Take 1/3 of the plant at most in any single harvest, leaving plenty of foliage for the plant to keep growing.

Parsley stores in the fridge for about a week wrapped in damp paper. It freezes well chopped, in ice cube trays with water or oil. Dried parsley loses most of its flavour.

Bolting to flower is the natural end of the parsley plant's life — usually in the second year. The leaves get smaller and the centre stalk lengthens, eventually producing umbrella-shaped flower heads. Once flowering starts, leaf quality declines. Remove and replace.

Carrot fly can affect parsley (it's in the same family as carrots). Same prevention — net the bed, plant near alliums.

Slow germination is normal — not a problem to solve.

Plant near: Tomato (the most classic herb-vegetable pairing in Mediterranean cooking and gardening), capsicum, asparagus, brassicas, roses.

Keep away from: Lettuce (allelopathic effect — parsley near lettuce can inhibit lettuce growth), mint.

Italian Flat-Leaf — Larger, smoother leaves with stronger flavour. The standard for cooking. Most widely available.

Curly Parsley (Triple Curled, Moss Curled) — Tightly curled leaves, milder flavour. Decorative garnish. Same growing habits as flat-leaf.

Hamburg Parsley — Grown for its thick edible root rather than leaves. Like a parsnip but with parsley flavour. Heritage variety, harder to find. Heritage seed suppliers.