Curly parsley: properties, varieties and cultivation

In cooking, various herbs and spices are widely used.The leaves and stems of parsley are very fragrant, especially when crushed, and the root as an additive is especially good in soups and sauces. It is so popular that it is used in almost every dish, just slicing the stems and leaves and sprinkling the food on top.

On the territory of Russia, the most common, and therefore, of particular interest is the subspecies of parsley curly. This type of spice has been known to mankind since the Middle Ages. It was discovered and began to be used as a spice for the inhabitants of the Mediterranean coast around the 6th century. At that time, parsley attracted attention not with its excellent taste and abundance of vitamins, but with its original appearance and sharp, spicy smell. Many dandies in those centuries used parsley as an ornamental plant, decorated flowerbeds for it.

It was from the Mediterranean that curly parsley was spread everywhere. At the moment, for its growth is particularly suitable terrain with bright lighting and good fertile soil. But in principle, parsley can grow anywhere, as long as before sowing at the same place, other root and umbrella spices, such as cilantro, carrot, cumin or dill, do not grow early. Best of all, it grows where cabbage, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplants grew. Wild curly parsley can still be found in places where there used to be houses, or even in nature.

At present, the Rospotrebnadzor has suggested that curly parsley can be used as a drug or poisonous substance. There is an opinion that it is harmful to the body and its use should be reduced or banned altogether. At this point, you should dwell. In fact, substances that are classified as narcotic, are only in the seeds of parsley. The action of these substances is similar to the fact that they have marijuana or hashish on a person.

In our country none of the narcological dispensaries contain people who use narcotic substances contained in parsley. Not recorded and the use of this particular plant as a drug. Of course, with frequent use of the stems and leaves can cause a negative effect of addiction. But to achieve it, it is necessary to consume the plant in large quantities.

Symptoms of being poisoned by oil will be:

• euphoria;
• aggression arising from scratch;
• deep feeling of fear;
• uncontrollable laughter.

It should be noted that the effect of consuming parsley oil lasts longer than that of other herbal drugs, but it must also be taken in much larger quantities. Also, in the case of parsley oil, the effect of consumption may not occur. The oil itself is yellow-green in color, very light and evaporates quickly from the surfaces. Production of this product in Russia is practically not carried out, since it is an expensive and extremely unprofitable process.

Curly parsley is already used as a medicine for diseases such as sweating, kidney disease and atherosclerosis. Parsley is an excellent diuretic and choleretic agent. It can be used as a disinfectant. To one of the little-studied properties of parsley can be attributed assistance with neurological diseases. It can also be used in the treatment of irritation from the bite of mosquitoes and other insects.

In fact, parsley, like no other plant, is rich in a complete set of useful substances, such as retinol, riboflavin, and it can surpass many citrus fruits in the content of vitamin C. Knowing this, many beauties use parsley juice in the compositions of homemade cosmetics, for example, in masks for whitening and, in principle, improve the appearance of the skin.If you chew parsley stalk, you can refresh your breath.

At present, Mooskrause 2 and Kucheriavets are the most popular varieties for growing parsley curly at home. Let us dwell on them in more detail.

This variety can be attributed to leaf varieties with early maturation. He was withdrawn in Germany. From planting seeds to the first shoots and maturity takes no more than 55-70 days. The plant itself looks quite large, its leaves are bright green, the edges of the plates are heavily carved, almost corrugated. The rosette of leaves is half-sprawling, and when it is grown the plant needs enough space. The variety is fruitful, after cutting the bush is quickly restored, has a pleasant smell, if you rub the leaves between your fingers, you can find an oily liquid.

The Kucheryavets variety is especially good when planted in winter or early spring. If it is planted before the winter season, it tolerates cold very well and rises in early spring with almost no losses. When planting this variety full maturity occurs in 50-66 days. Its leaves are especially large, the edging of the sheet is corrugated especially strongly. Plant color - green. This variety is famous for the fact that after cutting its leaves and stems still retain their properties for quite a long time. It is also good to use in a dried form, as it retains all the vitamins and trace elements, without losing its pleasant taste and aroma.

In general, for the cultivation of parsley, there are 2 ways - from the roots and from the seeds.

Using the method of growing from seed, it is better to take the early varieties of parsley, such as Mooskrause and Mooskrause 2. Before planting, you should wrap the parsley seeds in a clean cotton cloth and soak it in warm water. The optimum water temperature at the same time will be + 30-40 ° C. Soaking term is 2 days.

Water is better to periodically change. After soaking, the seeds must be decontaminated by soaking them for a short time in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

There are several other ways to pretreat seeds.

• Selected seeds are soaked in ordinary vodka. Among experienced gardeners there is an opinion that this method protects from excessive moisture and does not allow seeds to spoil or just be covered with mold. The vodka is poured into a flat container, a plate or saucer, and the seeds previously wrapped in gauze are placed into it. No more than 25 minutes after soaking, the seeds are taken out, washed in pure water and dried. It is not necessary to keep them more in the liquid, otherwise they may burn, and then you definitely won't wait for shoots. After drying, the seeds can be used for planting.
• A few months, but better weeks before planting, seeds of curly-curled seed are poured into a small bag of natural fabrics, it is better if the fabric is cotton and buried in the ground to a depth of about 20-30 cm. Shortly before planting in open ground, the seeds are washed and dried. This method allows you to get the seedlings very quickly, about 5-7 days after sowing, and, accordingly, the harvest can be expected much faster than it usually happens.
• Sprouting can be done with ash. In a regular glass jar with a small volume, about a liter, pour 2 large spoons of ash, pour it with warm water at a temperature of + 28-35 ° C no more. The resulting solution is left for two days, periodically stirred. After a specified time, the seeds are soaked in solution for 5 hours.

Seeds need to be planted in the following order:

• break through the land for planting and make holes no more than 2-5 centimeters deep;
• the distance between the holes to leave no less than 4 and no more than 6 centimeters;
• Before putting the seeds in the hole, each must be watered, the soil for planting should be wet;
• the seeds are laid out in the holes a few pieces in each and sprinkled on top of a layer of earth;
• each well must be re-watered with water, the plants must receive the right amount of moisture;
• if necessary, and to avoid freezing of shoots, cover the soil with planting with foil.

After sowing is done, you can wait for the first shoots. Remember that parsley loves moisture. Water your shoots 2-3 times a week. But with such a frequency of irrigation after some time it will be necessary to abandon the cover with a film so as not to create stagnant moisture. Otherwise, mold may occur.

For planting parsley curly from root vegetables choose the strongest and most healthy roots. Root crops must meet certain standards: thickness is from 2 to 5 cm, length is from 6 to 8 cm. If you think the root is good, but too long, then it can be cut. The cut is then decontaminated with activated charcoal. The roots themselves should be flat and smooth. Also, some time they should be held in the sand, then they will take root better.

The best months for such a landing are from April to June. To do this, you must choose a site with a sufficient content of sand, excessive moisture seedlings harmful. For the planting itself, you need to make holes, rather narrow, make a distance of 15-20 cm between them. Place the roots in a small hole at a small angle, at a distance of at least 5-6 cm from each other, and by falling asleep with earth, make sure that the root tip is above the surface.

After sprouting, the emerged greens are best sprayed with water every few days. Weeds can prevent fragrant greens from growing normally. Regularly weed the beds. This will not only save your shoots from unnecessary "neighbors", but also help loosen the soil, which will increase the flow of fresh oxygen to the roots of the plant.

Watering sprouts should be carried out depending on the purpose for which you grow parsley. If for drying, then watering can be done less often. Parsley greens will smell much stronger, but the stems will be rough. If for fresh food, then water more often.

How to grow parsley, see the next video.