It’s both decorative and practical to grow parsley inside on a sunny windowsill. Flat-leaf cultivars are renowned for their flavor and curly ones feature lacy, frilly foliage that looks excellent in any environment. It’s not difficult to learn how to grow parsley inside, and indoor parsley maintenance is also simple.
Parsley Container Gardening
The best place to grow parsley herbs (Petroselinum crispum) is in a sunlit, ideally south-facing window, where they will get six to eight hours of full sun per day. You’ll need to complement your window illumination with fluorescent lighting if it doesn’t supply enough light.
To avoid the plant leaning into the sun, turn the pot every three or four days. Cultivating parsley in a container is similar to growing other herbs in a pot. Choose a window sill container that fits nicely.
It should have multiple drainage holes as well as a saucer bottom to gather moisture as it drains. To promote drainage, fill the pot with fine, premium potting soil and a scoop of fine sand.
When growing parsley in the kitchen, where heat from cooking and regular watering maintains the air wet, humidity isn’t normally an issue. You may need to mist the plants more frequently in various regions.
Place the plant on top of a pebble tray and pour water into the tray, leaving the tips of the pebbles visible if the leaves appear dry and brittle. The moisture in the air around the plant rises as the water evaporates.
How to Grow Parsley Indoors
Since parsley has a long taproot that doesn’t transplant well, it’s preferable to start growing it indoors from seeds positioned in the container. Sprinkle a few seeds on the earth’s surface and cover them with another 1/4 inch (6 mm) of dirt.
Anticipate seedlings to sprout in three weeks or so if you water the pot frequently enough to keep the soil moist but not saturated. You’ll have to thin them out if you get too numerous seedlings. Use scissors to cut away the extra or pinch them between your fingernail and thumb. Removing them out could harm the nearby plants’ tap roots.
Also read: How To Grow Parsley From Cuttings
Indoor Parsley Care
It’s simple to look after parsley indoors. Maintain a light moisture level in the soil and drain the saucer under the pot after each watering to avoid the roots becoming saturated.
Fish emulsion or half-strength liquid fertilizer should be fed every two weeks to the plants. If necessary, you can combine parsley with other herbs in the container.
Chives, thyme, basil, oregano, and mint are among the herbs that go well with parsley in a mixed pot. Stick thyme and parsley herbs along the edges of a container or hanging basket so that they can tumble over.
Enjoy Your Parsley
You can begin picking your parsley plants after they have reached maturity. Cut the leaf stalks near the top of the potting soil rather than cutting off the tops of the stalks. During the growing season, this will encourage new growth.
Fresh parsley can be harvested until a seed stalk emerges and dies. The active growing season comes to an end with this. If you have excess parsley for consumption, you can dry it or freeze it for later use.
To dry them, construct a cluster by tying the stems together using rubber bands. Hang the herbs upside-down in a warm, well-ventilated room away from the sink, stove, and dishwasher. Keep away from direct sunlight.
Alternatively, you can dry them on a screen. Put them in a warm oven (100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit) for a few minutes if you want them to dry rapidly. To freeze the leaves, place them in freezer-safe zip-top bags. You should utilize parsley within a year of storing it, whether you dry it or freeze it.
