What's the soil temperature?

Over 90% of all seeds will germinate well within a week if the soil temperature is literally between 85-90 F degrees.

Why not stop by a local greenhouse and pick up a parsley plant?

Parsley doesn't want to be planted very deep at all. After preparing a fine seed bed, spread the seed over the area themn rake very lightly to just mix a little surface soil with the seeded parsley. Then either cover with straw or a section of row cover fabric or both and water well.

The straw will help to keep rains from washing the fine seed and keep soil from drying quickly. The fabric will do the same and add a little heat retention. Just remember to give it a regular watering if no rain waters even though you may not be able to see it through the fabric. IF a 4X4 ft. area germinates you will be able to transplant hundred of pots over two years and cut more parsley than you can use.

Thanks. I don't want to buy one plant for $1 when a packet of 100+ seeds costs a dime at the local hardware store. Some vegetables germinate faster than others. Radishes will germinate in 3 days while carrots (which are in the same family as parsley) may take three weeks. I know that some people will gently rub carrot seeds in between sand paper to scratch the hard outer coat of the seeds. Has anyone tried such a trick? What about placing the seeds in a jar on a hot pad and then planting them barely after they "hatch"? I'm looking for gimmicks. I'm just impatient with this herb.

It helps to scarify the seeds before you sow them! Here's the info I have:

Sow seed in early spring. They are slow to germinate, and may need to be scarified. (Pour boiling water over them and leave overnight before sowing.) Sow seeds 5mm deep. Germination may also be hastened by freezing seeds briefly to help break dormancy. Germination is slow and may take several weeks. When transplanting, be careful not to damage the raproot.Initial growth of plants is slow. More mature parsley plants may bolt to seed if transplanted.

I keep mine in the fridge vegetable crisper. Got 100% germination with seed leftover from last year's planting.

im just wondering??? if parsley is kept in a 65-70 degree envorement and is lightly covered with soil after sowing will it die.

Has it sprouted yet? Do the seeds need to be on the surface with light required for germination? If its plants, are they in pots or in the outdoor soil? Some seed need to be left on the surface to germinate. This is true with many very small seeds, the size of a grain of salt.

I grew herbs commercially for 18 years. No treatment is necessary for parsley, and trust me I tried them all. Just plant 10-15 seeds in a plug/pot, cover, temp 65-70 degrees. If seed is from a reputable supplier and it's fresh, it should germinate in about 11 days. I seed heavy, because this will give you a nice bushy plant. No need to thin out, and do not divide, because parsley hates its roots disturbed. Grow enough for yourself and for the butterflies. Parsley is a host plant for black swallowtails.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden Travels

My parsley germinated in three or four days with 100 percent germination!!! The trick is to moisten a paper towel. Wrap the parsley seeds in it. Place it in an open Ziploc bag in a warm, sunny windowsill. That's it!

Once they germinate, pick them up and place them on a sterile growing medium (seed-starting mix) with a fine dusting of soil over them. Spray them with a spray bottle to moisten the new layer of soil. They'll pop up in a day or two.

This method works great with small, hard to germinate seeds as well. I just started doing it this season with great success. I love how easy it is.

Well, here is how easy it is. My parsley self seeded. I have baby parsley plants all over the place! They keep popping up, so some are about 6" tall now, and others have just begun. I did NOTHING! So, I assume, they lay on top of the dirt for a few months, and when the time was right, they sprouted.

The reason that you purchase a parsley plant is so you will have leaves sooner. A heavy rain can wash your seedlings away leaving you with nothing. We have 2-6 inch rains.

If you plant the one plant in a spot that you can leave until next year, you can amaze any young person by growing butterflies. Do not remove the small black bugs that will appear. As they get larger you can see them change. As herblady49 suggested. If you are not aware parsley is a biannuel and will produce leaves this year. Next year they become limby and somewhat bitter. End of season will die. If you leave the flowers on you might have continuous parsley for the butterflys.

I've read that to germinate parsley seeds succesfully, we have to cover it because parsley is the one whose germination is inhibited by light. Is that true? It's been about 2 weeks now but my parsley seeds havent come out yet. Now i decided to put the cover off and just cover it with clear plastic and put it on a sunny spot. I sowed the seeds for about 1 cm, was that too deep?

Is that true? It's been about 2 weeks now but my parsley seeds havent come out yet.
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Where are you located? what are the high-low temps? what is the soil temp.?

Well, like with most seeds, you have to cover them, proportional to their size. In this case about 1/8" to 1/4". say 3/16". Most, if not all, seeds do not need light to germinate but instead need moisture and warm soil. Light is needed after germination. Parsley seeds is know to be disappointing at times but they will eventually germinate. They are tough, that is why they can over winter in the soil and germinate following year.

Make sure you are using relatively fresh seed. Parsley seeds don't remain viable as long as others, a year or two at most.

Nadya17 1 centimetre is very deep for parsley. A couple of mm is enough. But it is quite slow to germinate even at the correct depth.

I am growing parsley exclusively for the butterflies, and I used the "wintersowing" method, but in August. I put ProMix in a milk jug, watered it thoroughly, and sprinkled freshly picked, but ripe, parsley seeds on top. I left the jug out for two weeks and now I have bunches of seedlings. I'll probably just pop the entire hunk of soil into the garden and hope the seedlings survive the winter. Otherwise, I'll just start again in the spring.

Martha

This is late, but I thought I'd clear up some misinformation. Parsley, at least with my limited research neither needs light or dark to germinate. Soaking seems to benefit germination. Hot water is recommended for a brief time, though I suspect that warm water and a few rinses actually are the key - as this will remove chemical inhibitors that then allow for germination to occur (sort of simulating a wet spring, or snow melt). Oh and it was mentioned above that seeds don't need light till they germinate. This is WRONG! Some do. The ones that do tend to be tiny seeds like Nicotiana. Not all tiny seeds need light, nor are all the ones that need light tiny, but if you don't know, then give tiny seeds light (surface sow). Parsley seeds are not tiny (I really mean tiny - like dust).

I always start my parsley indoors, in small nursery cups or repurposed yogurt cups with drainage holes punched in the bottom. I follow the seed packet recommended depth (1/4 inch IIRC). The one "trick" I do is when I first water the seed starter mix after sowing the seeds, I use very hot water.
I start parsley in a warm room, or sometimes on a heat mat. It takes 2 to 3 weeks for parsley seeds to germinate.

Plant the seed shallowly and cover lightly. Take a tea kettle of boiling water and walk along the row pouring the water over the seeds. That will do it.

Do not click on 'My Garden Travels' link above. It's been compromised.

This is how I started my parsley. Moisten a paper towel, put parsley seeds in and fold the paper towel. Put it in a zip lock bag. Put the zip lock bag inside the oven and turn the oven light on. (Don't turn the oven on , just the oven light) the heat from the light had my seeds germinated in 5 days. Then I planted those seeds outside in beds thinking parsley like cold weather. I guess the soil was too cold for parsley to grow. I only have one plant now. But i got it all to germinate in the oven :)

now I know how to get it to germinate fast, just have to learn to grow it.