leggy parsley

[lisacharley]

my parsley is really tall and hardly has any leaves and its flowering, what do i do? will it fill out again or do i need to pull it out and start again? can i eat it when its flowering?

lisa

[rustylady]

Where have you sown/planted it?

[lisacharley]

i bought it out of asda last year, its a year old now and quite big.

lisa

[sewer rat]

Parsley (like most vegetables) is a biennial plant. We grow and crop in year one and in year two the plant will run to seed. You will need to plant more - or leave it to self seed and you should get fresh parsley again next year. Alternatively, you could cut it right back and pick away at any new growth that emerges.

[lisacharley]

thanks for letting me know, so if i cut it away it will grow again and i can use the leaves?

will this happen to all my herbs? i have loads of margoram and oragano (Cant spell) should i use it all up this year so it wont run to seed next year

lisa

[areia]

as sewer-rat says cut away or save the seed, ive saved the seed and left it to grow again the maximum ive had my parsley is 3 years then it just goes really woody and you cant really use it, herbs are what they are ment to be, you have to use them. Alot of them flourish better when you cut them, i've just cut my oragano back to 2inch (mine was in a 8 inch pot and going a bit mad )and popped the bits ive cut into brown envelopes and stored in a warm place to dry so i can crumble and store in my herb jars, if you regualy use the plant it will come back again if they are in pots repot each year, even if its just to clean the pot and trim the roots ( i do this with my rosemary every year cheers up when i do this )
What other herbs do you have ?,
what with the unpredictable weather as well which has caused my sorral to bolt, if you see any signs of bolting and you dont want the seeds cut the flower head back as soom as you see it hope this helps

[lisacharley]

i have corriander and dill which i sowed this year, oregano, margoram and chives which i planted last year. i use alot of parsley and chives but the others i only use occasionaly

[areia]

corriander through my experience bolts quickly so i have learnt to start picking off leaves quite early and it seems to last a bit longer before bolting, chives are suseptable to rust spot which means you have destroy the whole plant and discard the soil, and start again, dill chives and oregano are prolific in my garden so it is worth drying any herbs you dont use often to prevent them going woody, as thyme oragano and margoram parsley among few do tend to go woody, basil is a good plant from seed or bought as you can cut some tips off plonk in water and it will root thus loadsa more plants

[amandaandherveg]

My coriander has bolted. What should I do with it? Throw it out, trim it back, dry it? I have some new ones growing away nicely, I think the problem had been that I've left it to grow and not picked it.

[Demeter]

My coriander has bolted. What should I do with it? Throw it out, trim it back, dry it? I have some new ones growing away nicely, I think the problem had been that I've left it to grow and not picked it.

Eat it! Then sow some more

[gardening in mind]

let it go to seed,then collect to use in kitchen , or resow.I love coriander but it dos bolt really easily.