Parsley Plain Flat Leaf Seeds

Parsley Plain Flat Leaf produces taller plants with vibrant Italian-type flat leaves and a strong fresh parsley flavour for salads, sauces, marinades, soups, stews and garnishes.

Ready to harvest flavour-packed flat-leaf parsley from your garden? Follow our step-by-step Parsley Grow Guide for Plain Flat Leaf for sowing, naturally slow germination, regional timing and ongoing care.

Quick Grow Facts

• Plant Type: Culinary herb; botanically biennial, usually grown for first-year leaves
• Scientific Name: Petroselinum crispum var. neapolitanum, Italian flat-leaf type
• Named Type: Plain Flat Leaf; no hybrid or breeder series is declared
• Seed Form: Raw, unpelleted seed
• Pack Sizes: 2 g, 50 g and 500 g raw seed; live availability varies
• General Sowing Time: Spring to autumn on the stocked packet; favour your region’s cool-to-mild window
• Position: Sun to semi-shade; light afternoon shade in hot districts
• Sow Depth and Light: Cover 2 mm; light is not required for germination
• Germination: 14–21 days on the packet; target about 20–24°C and allow longer in cool conditions
• Pretreatment: Optional 8–24-hour soak in clean lukewarm water; dry sowing is also suitable
• Spacing: 30 × 30 cm for full plants; 15–20 cm within managed cut rows
• Growth Form: Upright basal rosette toward the taller end of parsley’s typical 30–60 cm leafy height; no support or pinching needed
• Harvest: Main picking from about 70–80 days; cut outer stems at the base

Why Grow Plain Flat Leaf?

• Flat Italian-type leaves bring a stronger parsley flavour to cooking.
• Taller stems are easy to gather for sauces, marinades and herb bunches.
• Regular outer-stem harvesting supports continued new leaf growth.
• The plants suit pots, raised beds and open herb gardens.

Sowing and Care

• Sow into fine, moist, freely drained soil and keep the shallow seed zone evenly moist until all seedlings have emerged.
• Direct sowing protects the taproot. If using modules, transplant a small intact plug at two to three true leaves and harden it for 5–7 days first.
• Use fertile soil with mature compost. Water at soil level, mulch after establishment and avoid waterlogging or heavy feeding.
• In the Western Cape, favour autumn and late-winter to spring sowing; in frost-prone areas, protect early starts; on the humid coast, prioritise airflow; in hot-dry or subtropical districts, use afternoon shade and the cooler months.
• Check for aphids, caterpillars and leaf spots. Remove damaged foliage, avoid working among wet plants and use only locally registered edible-crop controls exactly as labelled.

Harvest and Safety

Take the oldest outer stems close to the base and leave the centre growing. Parsley is biennial and older plants usually flower after a cool period; replace bolting plants for the best leaves. Rinse harvested parsley under clean running water before eating and do not use soap or produce wash.

Do not eat the sowing seed. “Raw seed” describes an unpelleted physical form and does not prove that a lot is chemically untreated. Follow the physical lot label and keep seed away from children, pets, food and feed.

Brought to you by Ubuntuberg Seeds, where our mission is to cultivate humanity & harvest unity. Ubuntuberg Seeds: the highest quality seed stock in all of Southern Africa, sourced from sustainable farms, guaranteeing you the best quality seed stock.