Mother's Herb Garden: Parsley

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Parsley is great as both a garnish and flavoring. MOTHER EARTH NEWS STAFF

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Lately, more and more people have begun to understand just how limited — in both variety and nutritional value — our "modern" diets hove become. This realization has sparked a new and widespread interest in the culinary and therapeutic uses of herbs, those plants which — although not well known today — were, just one short generation ago, honored ''guests" on the dinner tables and in the medicine chests of our grandparents' homes. In this regular feature, Mother will examine the availability, cultivation and benefits of our ''forgotten" vegetable foods and remedies, and — we hope — help prevent the loss of still another bit of ancestral lore.

Of all the world's herbs, perhaps none is more widely known than parsley. Brilliantly green and packed with nutrition, it has long been famous for its medicinal and culinary uses. Furthermore, this important herb has been classified and reclassified through the ages with the result that it has not one, but several scientific names in current use. Most modern references list it as Petroselinum sativurn, but the plant is also known as P. hortense, P. crispum, Apium petroselinum, A. hortense, and Carum petroselinum.

A biennial with perennial tendencies, parsley is native to the Mediterranean region where it thrives on cliffs, rocks and old walls. In North America it's usually treated as an annual, and is grown successfully in gardens and in containers. It has many bright green, tri-pinnate leaves on long, slender stalks which form a rosette. The plant grows between 6 and 12 inches tall, depending on the variety, and has a long, white taproot like that of its close relative the parsnip. Tiny yellow flowers appear from July through September, but if the herb is to be used for the kitchen, it should be cut back and not allowed to bloom, as the blossoming will adversely affect the flavor.

Parsley seed, which should be available almost everywhere garden supplies are sold, has a slow and somewhat patchy germination rate. Sow it in early spring, selecting a site with partial shade and good, well-worked, humus-rich soil. Barely cover the seeds, and keep the earth moist but not soggy.

There are two popular parsley varieties: the plain-leaved, "Italian" type (which has superior flavor), and the curled-leaf type (which makes the most attractive garnish). Whichever kind you grow, harvest the fresh, mature stems and leaves by cutting them about an inch above the ground. Although it's used fresh whenever possible, parsley dries beautifully, retaining its green color.

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