Parsley

[oceanwaves1]

I planted curly parsley for my daughter's cute rabbit (Riley)....when and how do we pick it? It's about 6 inches tall now...... thanks!

[Jess]

Easier to show you pictures than try to explain...
https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/herbs-pick/
Scroll down to no. 2

[oceanwaves1]

Hello Jess, and Thankyou! Funny how I don't want bunnies in my garden, and yet I grow parsley for my daughter's! I'm so new at all of this gardening stuff, but loving every minute!

[Jess]

You are very welcome.

I know what you mean about the bunny dilemma. My kids have had pet bunnies and I always ended up looking after them but if I see a wild bunny It just had better run really fast!

[cynthia_h]

If you've planted carrots, the bunny will LOVE the carrot tops while you and family eat the carrots themselves.

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9/Sunset Zone 17

[oceanwaves1]

Thanks Cynthia,
No carrots this year, but now that I know this, next year Riley the rabbit will love me! First time gardener...impatiently waiting for squash flowers......

[praying mantis]

I will probably become a rabbit owner soon. My friend's angora gave birth to three bunnies a month ago. They are addictive. Next time I visit, I will take a handful of parsley with me. They will be weened in 2 weeks. If I get one then I will rescue a companion bunny to have two rabbits. My garden will include many rabbit friendly morsels.

Irony: My garden and yard are blockaded from the invasion of the local neighborhood bunny. I will be setting up a mini box garden for Bunicula outside my yard. Need to put together a list of healthy stuff for rabbits to eat. Suggestions?

[cynthia_h]

I know that the House Rabbit Society (www.rabbit.org) is very interested in placing rescue bunnies in homes and keeping them healthy once they're placed.

I think they have copious dietary guidelines for rabbits on their website.

They may also have recommendations on where to find adoptable bunnies near your home.

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9/Sunset Zone 17

[cheshirekat]

Thanks for the link to the bunny site. I'd really like to have a couple bunnies but the hubby says no. I would love to take a bunny out to the garden with me, but it is not to be yet. I enjoyed seeing the photos and reading the stories and hope I can come up with a plan to change the mean old hubby's mind.

[oceanwaves1]

I have to admit, I wasn't a huge fan of daughter's rabbit when she first got Riley, but now she's just grown on me....too cute! We have a wild bunnie we've named Dexter that's missing a chunk of an ear and has been coming around for the 7 years I've lived in this house....and Dexter is not shy for sure! As long as she can't get in my garden she can chew on the grass all day long!

[iLLogicaL]

I go for the 'sea-of-green' approach with parsley, both flat-leaf and curly. Most of my plants are about four inches max from the next plant, and I just go and pick the tallest leaves when I want some. None of the plants get much higher than a foot tall, but all the leaves are young and fresh and delicious.

It really seems to grow more the more you pick it. The link Jess provided was cool, but I'd disagree about picking methodology...I try to go for the outside stems (which are generally the tallest), letting the inner ones develop, and have never had issues with tough or distasteful leaves. That could be due to the fact that I pick at it almost every day, so no leaves ever get very old.

[Jess]

The link Jess provided was cool, but I'd disagree about picking methodology...I try to go for the outside stems (which are generally the tallest), letting the inner ones develop, and have never had issues with tough or distasteful leaves. That could be due to the fact that I pick at it almost every day, so no leaves ever get very old.

I posted a pic because the last time I described cutting herbs to the base people misunderstood and thought I meant chopping the lot off! It is very difficult trying to describe how I harvest, either that or I am not very articulate. Trying to find a picture online is nigh on impossible but I thought that one was near enough. *sigh*
I too go for the outside stems with parsley and never have a problem with tough old ones as, like you, I pick them too often.

[praying mantis]

I started using my parsley daily a week ago. The parsley was planted at a companion plant with my peppers. I never cooked with it before and now I cook with it regularly. The parsley got me into picking my basil and lemon verbena. Now, I cook with fewer spices and veggies or herbs from my garden. The intensity of the favors do not require additional flavoring. Sometimes I end up grazing and the food never makes it into the house.

Fresh food and herbs has no substitute.

[iLLogicaL]

Agreed! The only thing I'd add is that most herbs lose their flavor pretty rapidly when cooked, and are best added towards the very end of the cooking process.