Parsley is an inexpensive herb that can quickly elevate a dish with its peppery flavour. Often used in salads, especially a Middle Eastern-style tabbouleh, it can also be used as a base for sauces or sprinkled over pasta, and is frequently called for in a number of recipes including this Jamie Oliver salmon one.
As inexpensive as it may be, fresh leaf parsley that’s sold in plastic packaging is also notorious for going bad quickly, with moisture getting trapped in the plastic and spoiling the leaves. Parsley plants are another inexpensive option sold in most UK supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s and Asda, that don’t come wrapped in all the plastic and last slightly longer. But as much as parsley plants last longer than the packaged leaves, you might find that you still get through the plant quickly, especially if you frequently sprinkle it as a finishing touch on dishes. If that’s the case, one gardener has shared an easy way to harvest supermarket parsley that will last a whole year.
The gardener Martha Swales shared how she transformed a “sad pot of parsley” from the supermarket into a full harvest that’s lasted her a year in a video posted to Instagram.
Supermarket parsley often comes in one pot, which you can then cut the leaves from to add to recipes or sprinkle over food, but these pots are “actually full of loads of individual plants that can then be repotted”.
Martha explains that repotting them is “so simple” and can be done in window boxes, pots and even the ground if you have the space for it. They also make for a great gap filler in vegetable gardens, as they don’t take up much space in the soil.
To replant supermarket parsley, you want to start by cutting the tops off the plant, as “floppy leaves will just cause loads of moisture to evaporate from the plant and stop it from settling in.”
After the tops have been cut off, you can go ahead and “gently tease them apart” to reveal a bunch of separate plants that can be repotted.
When it comes to adding them to the soil, it doesn’t require any fancy planting methods either, with Martha saying: “I literally just made a hole and stuck the parsley in”.
The gardener does recommend watering your pot before splitting the plants and adding them to the soil, however, as this will “help them settle in better”.
Firmly tuck the soil around the roots before giving your parsley “a good water” and within a week or two “your plants will be happily growing away”. There’s no need to wait to plant parsley either, as it can survive all winter long, lasting for months and even up to a year after being planted.