When to plant Parsley
Calendar windows
Dates shift with your latitude — they are calculated from your local last-spring-frost date, not from a fixed calendar.
At a glance
Takes frost; can go out weeks before the last one.
Practical notes
Notoriously slow — two to four weeks to germinate. Soak the seed overnight and keep the row damp. It is biennial, so sow a fresh batch every year; the second-year plant bolts and turns bitter.
Knowing when to pick
Cut outer stalks at the base and work inwards — shearing the top makes a stubby plant that never recovers properly.
Storing the crop
A week in the fridge with the stems in water. Chop and freeze — dried parsley is close to flavourless.
Crop rotation
Rotate away from carrots and their relatives for 3 years to break the carrot fly cycle.
Grows well with
Keep apart from
Watch for
Full guide: parsley diseases and pests (3) → with spread routes, compost verdicts and the prevention this list justifies.