When and how to plant root parsley in open ground

Root parsley is a healthy and tasty variety of a spicy plant. It is grown in almost the same way as leafy, in accordance with simple rules.

Description and characteristics of root parsley

Root parsley (Petroselinum crispum var. tuberosum) is a variety of common curly parsley in the Umbelliferae family. It has a straight ribbed stem and bright green dissected leaves, smooth or corrugated, triangular in shape. The root of the plant is spindle-shaped, thickened.

Greens have a two-year life cycle. In the first season, a leaf rosette of 30-40 individual plates is formed in the spring, and by the end of summer, a root crop with dense pulp and a yellowish or white peel grows. In the second year in June or July, the culture produces a long peduncle with greenish-yellow umbellate inflorescences. The fruits of the plant are oblong-ovoid, the seeds are dark and elongated, with characteristic stripes.

Height of root parsley can be about 1m

What is the difference between root parsley and leaf parsley

The two varieties of greens are very similar, and it can be difficult to distinguish between them. You need to look mainly at the above-ground plates. The leaf variety has a lot of them, about 100 per plant, while the root variety has only 40 or less.

In addition, the difference can be seen when examining root crops. In root greens, the underground part is large and massive, while in leafy greens it is long, thin, branched into many processes.

The best varieties of root parsley

Before planting a plant on the site, it is worth studying the most popular varieties. Several varieties are valued for their high nutritional quality.

Sugar

Early root parsley allows the roots to be harvested approximately 98 days after germination. They reach a length of 30 cm, weight can be about 60 g. The variety contains a large amount of ascorbic acid and carotene, and has high yields. They have a good taste, including the leaves – they are soft and juicy.

Sugar parsley was entered in the State Register in 1950

Tired

Parsley of this variety ripens slowly – it takes 193 days to grow it from the emergence of seedlings. But the variety is valued for its good keeping quality, Jadran is optimally suited for winter storage in the cellar. Parsley has a smooth white root up to 22 cm long without branching, gives a sprawling leaf rosette.

Variety Jadran rarely suffers from fungal diseases

Yielding

In accordance with the name, root parsley gives very good yields – up to 3,6 kg of root crops per 1 m². The advantages include the length of the rods up to 30 cm, rich taste and high content of vitamins. It is used both fresh and canned.

Harvest parsley has few leaves, but they are tasty, and they can be cut several times during the season.

The final

The mid-season variety of root parsley produces very large root crops up to 190 g in weight. Demonstrates good yield – more than 2,5 kg per 1 m². The root is about 25 cm long, the stem has a conical shape without branching. The flesh of the variety is white, the skin is light gray.

Grade Final is suitable for drying, freezing and canning

When to plant root parsley

It is necessary to plant root parsley in the spring after positive temperatures are established. The culture germinates already at 3-4 ° C, it is possible to lay seeds in the soil at the end of April. Until mid-May, it is desirable to complete the sowing.

What kind of soil does root parsley love?

It is necessary to grow root parsley in the garden on loamy and sandy loamy nutrient soils. The culture develops well in the area where dill, coriander or carrots were planted before it. It is important that no fresh manure is present in the soil, otherwise the root crops may grow branchy.

How to plant root parsley

Green crops are traditionally grown from seeds. There are several ways to sow them – directly into the soil, into a home seedling container and into a closed greenhouse.

How to grow root parsley from seed outdoors

Growing root parsley in open ground is practiced most often – the culture takes root well. The site for the plant is prepared in the fall. The soil is dug up to a shallow depth of up to 30 cm, all weeds are removed and 5 kg of humus are applied for each meter of space. With the onset of spring, the earth will need to be loosened again and complex mineral fertilizers added – 25 g of nitrophoska and 50 g of ammonium nitrate per meter.

You need to plant root parsley in open ground according to the following scheme:

1. Two weeks before sowing, the seeds are soaked in warm water for 48 hours to speed up the awakening of the material.
2. After the expiration of the period, the grains are washed and placed on a piece of gauze for 5-6 days until the sprouts appear.
3. Seeds are placed for another ten days in the refrigerator, after which they are dried.
4. On a plot in the garden, grooves 2 cm deep are dug in the ground at intervals of 20 cm between rows.
5. The soil is watered abundantly and the seeds are laid out in the recesses, and then sprinkled with soil on top of 1 cm.
6. The bed is covered with a film for 2-3 days for long-term moisture retention.

If desired, you can water the seeds after deepening, but in this case there is a risk of blurring the grooves.

Due to the high content of essential oils, the seeds germinate slowly, so they must be soaked

Growing root parsley through seedlings

The seedling method for greens is used infrequently. It does not give the gardener any special advantages, but when transferring plants to the ground, there is a risk of damaging their underground system.

You need to sow root parsley in boxes like this:

1. Before planting, seeds are soaked in a standard way to swell, wait for sprouts to appear and put in the refrigerator for ten days.
2. In shallow, but wide containers, nutrient soil is poured, consisting of disinfected garden soil and humus.
3. Grooves 1-2 cm deep are made in the soil and seeds are laid in them.
4. Sprinkle planting material on top with soil and spray abundantly from a spray bottle.
5. Cover the containers with a film for several days, not forgetting to regularly remove it for airing.

It is necessary to grow seedlings in a lighted place at a temperature of about 25 ° C, carefully monitoring the soil moisture. When the root parsley gives the first true leaves, the heat will need to be reduced to only 18 ° C

It is necessary to transfer seedlings to the ground in mid-May, after the final establishment of heat. They do this very carefully, it is desirable, in principle, not to expose the root system of the sprouts, but to plant them in the garden by transshipment.

When grown in small pots, parsley will be easier to transfer to the ground without disturbing the earthy coma.

When grown in small pots, parsley will be easier to transfer to the ground without disturbing the earthy coma.

Planting root parsley in a greenhouse

You can grow a crop in a greenhouse. The algorithm is almost the same as landing in open ground:

1. In pre-prepared soil, shallow grooves are made, placing them in rows at intervals of 20-30 cm.
2. Seeds are soaked in water to swell and stratified in the refrigerator after sprouts appear.
3. The material is sown in the recesses made and sprinkled with a layer of soil, and then the beds are irrigated from above, trying not to erode the soil.
4. For 2-3 days of planting, cover with a film, and then remove the shelter.

The main advantage of the greenhouse is that you can sow the crop as early as the end of January, without waiting for the arrival of spring. Root parsley is grown in the standard way, but for early planting, additional illumination with fluorescent lamps is used. The daytime sun at the end of winter is still too little for the successful development of culture.

When growing in a greenhouse, root parsley should be kept at a temperature of about 12 ° C.

How much root parsley grows

The ripening time of root parsley depends on its variety. Early varieties produce a crop 2,5 months after germination, medium and late – after 100-200 days. In general, the life cycle of any parsley, root or leaf, takes two years.

Caring for root parsley

Culture has sufficient endurance and unpretentiousness. But for good germination, she needs to provide favorable conditions. The agrotechnics of root parsley when grown in the ground and in the greenhouse is approximately the same.

Weeding and loosening

Green seeds germinate for a long time and require obligatory loosening of the soil for good oxygen saturation. The first time the procedure is carried out about a week after sowing. It is advisable to mark the grooves with root parsley with marks in advance. It will be more convenient to loosen the soil along the exposed beacons to a depth of about 6 cm.

Planting and caring for root parsley require the mandatory removal of weeds as they appear. Foreign plants should not interfere with the development of the culture and take away valuable substances from it.

Thinning

The first thinning for root parsley is carried out immediately after emergence. Between strong seedlings leave 2,5 cm of free space, the rest of the shoots are removed.

The procedure is repeated two weeks later. This time the distance between the seedlings should be about 7 cm.

Watering

The culture develops well on moist, but not waterlogged soil. Water is brought under the root, in the morning and in the evening, you can also use the method of drip irrigation. The frequency of the procedure is regulated in accordance with the amount of precipitation. In case of heavy rains, it is not necessary to water the greens; in a drought, it is necessary to provide daily moisture.

Especially carefully the state of the soil is monitored during the period of ripening of the root crops of a particular variety. The soil at this time should not dry out.

You need to water the root parsley at 20-25 liters per meter of plantings.

Additional fertilizing

To obtain a tasty and juicy harvest, root parsley is recommended to be fed with mineral fertilizers. For the first time they are brought in after the appearance of three true leaves – 15 g of ammonium nitrate are added per meter of soil.

The second top dressing is carried out after three weeks. 10 g of superphosphate and 5 g of ammonium nitrate and potassium salt are added to a similar area.

When they dig up root parsley

The exact timing of harvesting depends on the plant variety. But traditionally, it is recommended to dig up root parsley in autumn at the end of September or in October on a dry and sunny day. Green leaves are pre-cut to a small stump, and the underground part is removed from the ground and left to dry in the garden. After that, the fruits are sorted out and damaged and rotten specimens are thrown away.

How to store root parsley at home

Storage of root parsley after harvesting is carried out in several ways:

1. Dry sand. Immediately after harvesting, the root crops are sorted out, laid out in wooden boxes and sprinkled with sand so that they do not touch each other. The containers are put into the cellar at a temperature of 0-2 ° C and during the winter the blanks are periodically checked, timely removing rotten or dried fruits.
2. Freeze. You can save root parsley in the freezer. First, the fruits are washed and blanched in boiling water for about five minutes, and then dried and cut into circles or strips. The raw materials are laid out in plastic bags and air is removed from them, and then the workpiece is removed into the freezer.
3. Drying. The washed and peeled roots are cut and sent to the oven at a temperature of about 60 ° C for 3-4 hours. When the slices become crisp and brittle, they will need to be packaged in clean jars or cloth bags and put away in a dry, dark place.

When storing root parsley at home in the cellar and freezer, root crops retain nutritional properties for up to six months. In dried form, they can be consumed up to two years.

Dried parsley is good for use as a condiment in soups and garnishes.

Conclusion

Root parsley is a plant with low requirements for growing conditions. To get a good harvest, it is enough to follow the basic rules of planting and pay attention to watering and fertilizing the crop.