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  • From: Allan Balliett <aballiett AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Introduction and Parsley question
  • Date: Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:08:51 -0500

Biennials may normally produce seed in the 2nd season, after a winter but any biennial that is stressed during the first year may put outside. Stress includes, but it not limited to, too little water or too much heat. -Allan in WV

I have often had parsley bolt at some point during the season; usually in late summer, though the likeliest time for it to have built up the chill hours would have been in the early spring, shortly after it was set out, and it rarely bolts early.

If you cut off the bolting portion of the plant, it will often put on more usable leaves for a later harvest. Flavor of these leaves doesn't seem to be affected.

-- Rivka; Finger Lakes NY, Zone 5 mostly
Fresh-market organic produce, small scale


On Dec 20, 2009, at 11:44 AM, Bill Shoemaker wrote:

You're right Ben. Parsley is a bienniel. It usually needs a Winter to know it's time to flower. The process is called vernalization. It's essentially temperature conditioning. The plant needs to experience so many hours of temps below a ceiling, often about 45 degrees F. This year was so unusual and cool in the upper Midwest, your plants may have actually met those conditions. We had parsley out in the field west of Chicago about 45 miles. It didn't bolt. But it was certainly a lot cooler than normal this season. You may never see that happen again. Then again, with climate changing, who knows?

Bill

---- Original message ----

We usually grow a bed of herbs to give out to the CSA each week. This
year, the parsley bolted. Did anyone else have this experience or
know why it happened? My understanding is that parsley is a biannual
and should not flower from seed. In our case, not really a production
altering question but just one of those I can't get off my mind.
Thanks in advance for the answer and to everyone that participates in this list.


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