Root parsley: growing and care, how it differs from leaf, perennial or annual

Root parsley is a healthy and tasty herb. It is grown in almost the same way as leaf, in accordance with simple rules.

Description and characteristics of parsley root

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

Greens have a two-year life cycle. In the first season in spring, a leaf rosette is formed from 30-40 separate plates, and by the end of summer a root crop with dense pulp and yellowish or white skin grows. In the second year, in June or July, the culture gives 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.

Root parsley height can be about 1 m

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 aboveground plates. The leafy variety has many, about 100 per plant, while the root variety has only 40 or less.

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

Attention! Both types of plants are eaten whole. But leafy varieties give more juicy and healthy greens, and root varieties are valued precisely for their fleshy underground 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 appreciated for their high nutritional quality.

Sugar

Early root parsley allows you to harvest root vegetables about 98 days after germination. In length they reach 30 cm, weight can be about 60 g. The variety contains a large amount of ascorbic acid and carotene, has high yield. They differ in good taste, including the leaves - they are soft and juicy.

Sugar parsley was entered in the State Register back in 1950

Yadran

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

The Jadran variety 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 rod length up to 30 cm, rich taste and high vitamin content. 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

A mid-season variety of root parsley gives very large roots up to 190 g in weight. Demonstrates good yield - over 2.5 kg from 1 m²... The root is about 25 cm long, and the stem is conical without branching. The pulp of the variety is white, the skin is light gray.

Final grade is suitable for drying, freezing and preserving

When to plant root parsley

It is necessary to plant root parsley in the spring after the establishment of positive temperatures. The culture germinates already at 3-4 ° C, you can plant seeds in the soil at the end of April. It is advisable to complete sowing by mid-May.

What kind of earth 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 fresh manure is not present in the soil, otherwise the root crops may grow branchy.

How to plant root parsley

Green culture is traditionally grown from seed. They can be sown in several ways - 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 the open field is practiced most often - the culture takes root well. The site for the plant is prepared in the fall. The soil is dug to a shallow depth of 30 cm, all weeds are removed and 5 kg of humus are applied per meter of space. With the onset of spring, the land will need to be loosened again and added complex mineral fertilizers - 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:

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

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

Seeds, due to the high content of essential oils, sprout hard, so it is imperative to soak them.

Advice! In the northern regions, you can sow root parsley before winter. In this case, the culture will sprout in the spring a couple of weeks after the snow melts.

Growing parsley root through seedlings

The seedling method for greens is rarely used. 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:

Before planting, the seeds are soaked in a standard way to swell, wait for the sprouts to appear and refrigerate for ten days.
Nutrient soil, consisting of disinfected garden soil and humus, is poured into shallow, but wide containers.
In the soil, grooves are made with a depth of 1-2 cm and seeds are laid in them.
Sprinkle the planting material on top with soil and spray abundantly from a spray bottle.
Cover the containers with foil for several days, remembering 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 heating 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 advisable, 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, it will be easier to transfer parsley to the ground without disturbing the earthy coma.

Planting parsley root in a greenhouse

You can grow a crop in a greenhouse. The algorithm is almost no different from planting in open ground:

In the prepared soil, shallow grooves are made, placing them in rows at intervals of 20-30 cm.
The seeds are soaked in water to swell and stratified in the refrigerator after sprouting.
The material is sown in the holes made and sprinkled with a layer of soil, and then the beds are irrigated from above, trying not to erode the soil.
For 2-3 days, planting is covered with a film, and then the shelter is removed.

The main advantage of the greenhouse is that it is possible to sow crops already at the end of January, without waiting for the arrival of spring. Root parsley is grown in a standard way, but with early planting, additional lighting with fluorescent lamps is used. The daytime sun at the end of winter is still too little for the successful development of culture.

Advice! A closed greenhouse should be regularly ventilated to maintain stable humidity.

When grown 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 yield a harvest 2.5 months after germination, medium and late varieties - after 100-200 days. In general, the life cycle of any parsley, root or leaf, takes two years.

Root Parsley Care

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

Weeding and loosening

Green seeds germinate for a long time and require obligatory loosening of the soil for good oxygenation. For the first time, the procedure is carried out about a week after sowing. It is advisable to mark the grooves with root parsley with labels 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 involves 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 germination. 2.5 cm of free space is left between strong seedlings, the rest of the shoots are removed.

Once again, the procedure is carried out two weeks later. This time the distance between the seedlings should be about 7 cm.

Watering

The culture grows well on moist, but not swampy soil. Water is applied at the root, in the morning and in the evening, you can also use the drip irrigation method. 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 drought, it is necessary to provide daily moisture.

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

Watering root parsley should be 20-25 liters for each meter of planting

Top dressing

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

The second feeding is carried out three weeks later. On a similar area, 10 g of superphosphate and 5 g of ammonium nitrate and potassium salt are introduced.

When dug up root parsley

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

Dry sand. Immediately after harvesting, the roots are sorted out, laid out in wooden boxes and sprinkled with sand so that they do not touch each other. The containers are removed to the cellar at a temperature of 0-2 ° C and during the winter the workpieces are periodically checked, timely removing rotten or dried fruits.
Freezing. You can store the 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. Raw materials are laid out in plastic bags and air is removed from them, and then the workpiece is removed into the freezer.
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 are crunchy and brittle, they will need to be packaged in clean jars or cloth bags and stored in a dry, dark place.

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

Dried parsley works well as a condiment in soups and side dishes

Conclusion

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

When and how to plant root parsley outdoors