Root parsley Bardowicker is a species of parsley grown specifically for its root. The long, slender, white root is very similar in appearance to the root of parsnip, but root parsley is smaller and slimmer. The root tastes slightly like parsley and has the crunch of parsnip and the leaf tastes just like leaf parsley.
Use the root finely chopped in stews, stews and soups. The leaf can be used like parsley in soups, sauze. The leaves can also be added at the last minute to stews and oven dishes. This so-called "forgotten vegetable" is easy to grow, doesn't suffer from any diseases and can be stored well by ensiling. Non hardy annual
Soak: 12 hours
Sowing under glass: February - March
Outdoor sowing: April - June
Germination: 28 - 35 days
Germination temp. : 5 - 20 °C
Sowing depth: ½ - 1 cm
Plant distance: 20 cm
sowing distance in rows: 15 - 20 cm
Plant position: sunny
Harvest period: October till the first frosts
Soak the seeds about 12 hours before sowing in tepid water to reduce the long germination period. Sow indoors or outdoors under glass from February on. Sow in trays filled with moist potting soil. Mix the seeds with some dry sand to make sowing easier. Sow thinly and evenly as possible. Cover with a fine layer of about ½ cm of soil and press gently. Put the trays in a large container to water them from the underside to prevent disturbing the seeds. Put a lid on the trays and put the trays in a cold frame or on a light place in the living room but not on a windowsill. Remove the lid when the seedlings emerge. Thin the seedlings after about 2 - 3 weeks and plant them outdoors on a sunny plot with deeply loose soil. Keep the plants about 20 cm apart. Keep them well watered, but not waterlogged.
Sow outdoors from about April, when there's no longer any danger of nightfrosts. Sow on a very sunny plot with no fresh manure. Loosen the soil to about 30 cm deep. Make a straight trench of about a centimeter deep and disperse the seeds evenly and thinly. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil of about ½ cm . Keep moist and weedfree. Sow more rows at about 15 - 20 cm apart.
Harvest the leaves when needed, but keep enough leaves on the roots to keep the roots growing on. Especially in the middle of the roots. Harvest the roots from October on by lifting them with a pitch fork. You can store this roots like carrots and beet roots by burying them in sand. Bardowicker isn't prone to diseases, but mice and rabbits can be a problem. Don't grow root parsley near salad varieties, because they weaken eachother. Good neighbours are beans and aspergus.
