Garden Parsley: Growing, Harvest Times and Cautions

Garden parsley is a biennial herb. In the first year, it produces only a rosette of basal leaves, and it's not until the second year that a hollow, flowering stem grows, branching in the upper part and reaching up to 1 meter in height.

In short: Garden parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is a biennial herb – the first year brings only a rosette of basal leaves, the second a hollow flowering stem up to 1 metre tall. Roots are harvested in the sowing year, leaves in July and August, fruits in August of the second year. Apiol in its essential oil is toxic in larger amounts.

Botanical name	Petroselinum crispum
Life cycle	Biennial – leaf rosette in year one, flowering stem in year two
Stem height	Up to 1 m, branched in the upper part
Root harvest	Year of sowing, in autumn or early the following spring
Leaf and fruit harvest	Leaves in July and August; fruits in August of the second year
Infusion ratio	10 g of roots to 100 g of water; one cup three times a day, two days a week

Garden parsley (lat. Petroselinum crispum) is a biennial herb. In the first year, it only forms a rosette of basal leaves, and only in the second year does a flower-bearing hollow stem grow, branched in the upper part, up to 1 meter high. The main taproot is usually simple or only slightly branched, spindle-shaped. The leaves of natural forms are lobed, triangular in outline, but breeding has produced a number of forms with deeply divided and variously curled leaves. The fruits are double achenes. The most commonly used part of the plant is the root, which is harvested in the year of sowing in autumn or early in the following spring. After thorough washing and cutting, it is dried or stored in a cool cellar, preferably in sand. The fruits are harvested in the second year after flowering, i.e. in August, the leaves are collected in July and August. There are two cultivars: Leaf parsley and Root parsley.

Use of Parsley in Cosmetics

Parsley is also used in medicine. It is an irreplaceable diuretic drug that also has anti-rheumatic and draining effects. However, drinking parsley infusions too frequently is dangerous, because the apiol contained in the essential oil is toxic and damages the kidneys in larger quantities. Otherwise, parsley is most commonly used as a root vegetable. The roots, leaves and fruits of parsley contain essential oils. Depending on the origin of the plants, the essential oil has different compositions and may contain myristicin, apiol or allytetramethoxybenzene. Parsley leaves also contain vitamin C. In case of increased sweating and impure acne-prone skin, it is recommended to drink a cup of parsley infusion three times a day. The infusion is prepared by adding 100 g of water to 10 g of roots. The infusion is drunk two days a week. Parsley supports excretion and cleanses the skin. However, neither grated root nor leaves are added to vegetable masks, because parsley essential oil causes inflammation, swelling and rashes when in direct contact with the skin.

Beware of parsley! In larger quantities, it can damage the kidneys!

Use of Parsley in Cosmetics

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