Parsley
Petroselinum crispum
Apiaceae · carrot family
- Matures
- 60–75 days
- Harvest
- Continuous · Annual
- Sun
- 4–8+ hrs
- Spacing
- 6–18 in
Planting window
When to sow, by microclimate — foggier blocks run a different calendar than sunnier ones.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foggy | ◐ | ◐ | ● | ● | ● | ● |
| Sunny | ◐ | ● | ● | ● | ◐ |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foggy | ● | ● | ● | ● | ◐ | ◐ |
| Sunny | ◐ | ● | ● | ● | ◐ |
Sunlight
How well it does at each level of direct sun per day.
Soil depth
Root room it needs — useful for sizing raised beds and containers.
Spacing
Room each plant needs — along the row and between rows — for sizing beds.
- In-row
- 6–18 in
- Between rows
- 6–18 in
Growth habit
The shape it makes in the bed and how tall it gets — what tells you whether to give it a trellis, a stake, or just room.
- Habit
- Low mound
- Mature height
- 8–12 in
Low and self-supporting — no staking needed.
How to start it
Sow it where it grows, or raise it under cover and set it out — and how far ahead to start the seedlings if it's the latter.
- Usually
- Transplant
- Start indoors
- 9 weeks ahead
Started under cover, then set out as a seedling.
Getting started
How it goes in the ground — how deep to sow or set it, and the soil temperature it needs to wake up. The cold-soil floor is the real limiter for direct-sowing in a foggy SF spring.
- Started from
- From seed
- Ideal soil temp
- 65–85°F
- Sow depth
- 0.125 in
- Time to emerge
- 13–17 days
Germinates between 40–95°F; happiest around 65–85°F.
Pests & diseases
What tends to trouble this crop — what it is, what you'll see, and what to do about it, least-toxic first.
Our sources document no specific pests or diseases for this crop; it's generally grown without major pest trouble in home gardens.
Sources
Every figure above is backed by these.
- UC Master Gardeners, Sonoma County (Planting Summary)backs plantingWindow, daysToMaturity, lifecycle, harvestStyle · UC MG Sonoma Parsley feature page: 'sow seed of this cool-weather crop March-May and again August-October' (Bay Area spring+fall base window; Mar-May & Aug-Oct = yes). 'Start harvesting parsley 60-75 days after planting' -> daysToMaturity 60-75. No SF foggy/sunny parsley source exists, so the foggy map widens through summer (fog removes the heat-bolt gap) while sunny follows the inland spring/fall pattern. Habit and harvest: annual, continuous — consistent with this source's planting-summary row.
- UC Master Gardeners, Sacramento Countybacks plantingWindow, sunlight, inRowSpacing, rowSpacing · 'Grow herbs!' parsley entry: 'Parsley needs cool weather to germinate, so plant in spring and fall' (corroborates the cool-season spring/fall window); 'prefers full sun to part shade, with afternoon shade in our hot Central Valley' (sunlight: full sun to part-shade tolerant; the shade caveat is for inland heat, not cool-coastal SF); 'Thin seedlings to 12 to 18 inches apart for flat leaf parsley, 6 to 8 inches apart for the curly variety' -> inRowSpacing 6-18 covering both types. Between-row spacing is taken equal to the in-row figure: this crop is spaced about equally in all directions and the source gives a single spacing, not a distinct row width.
- Johnny's Selected Seedsbacks sunlight, inRowSpacing · Parsley Key Growing Information: Light Requirement 'Sun'; 'Thin plants to 8-12" apart' (corroborates the mid-range of the 6-18 spacing). Seed house with horticulture staff; agronomy only.
- NC State Extension — Gardener Handbookbacks soilDepth · Ch. 18 Plants Grown in Containers: 'Some herbs with a large taproot, however, need a 12-inch deep container'; parsley is listed among container herbs (Table 18-5). Generic taproot statement -> soil depth inferred at the shallow/moderate boundary (~12 in floor). Land-grant extension, agronomy only.
- UC Master Gardeners, Santa Clara County (Containers)backs soilDepth · soil-depth-by-crop.json has no parsley row; depth categories shallow 6-9 in / moderate 12-18 in / deep 18-24 in. Parsley (taproot ~12 in) assigned to the shallow/moderate boundary by parity: 6-10 = maybe, 10-15/15-18/18-24 = yes.
- UC Master Gardeners, Sacramento County (Germination)backs germination · GN 154 soil-temp table, parsley row: 40/65–85/95°F; germinationDays 13–17 derived from Table 2 across the optimum band.
- USDA GRIN Taxonomybacks botany
- NC State Extension — Plant Toolboxbacks growthHabit · Petroselinum crispum entry: Height '0 ft. 8 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.'; Habit/Form 'Clumping, Erect'; description notes plants 'grow about one foot tall in their first year, then reach 2-3 feet during their second year when they flower.' The culinary plant is the first-year low clump -> low-mound, height 8-12 in (the 2-3 ft figure is the second-year bolting flower stalk, not the edible rosette).
- University of Minnesota Extensionbacks plantingDepth · UMN Extension: 'Cover seeds with one-eighth inch of soil.'
- UC Master Gardeners, Santa Clara Countybacks startMethod · Start method: Planting chart: Parsley carries a Transplant row only; From seed to transplant 9 weeks.
- Garden for the Environment (San Francisco)backs startMethod · Start method: March-April spring list: Parsley appears under start indoors from seed.