Garden Wisdom Blog — how-to-grow

Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) As a member of the family Apiaciae, the parsnip counts among its close cousins the carrot, parsley, dill, fennel, cilantro, and celery. All of these bear tall umbels of flowers, but like the carrot, parsnip is biennial, and will not bloom or set seed until its second year of growth. Also like the carrot, the parsnip is grown for its substantial taproot, which is always served cooked. Another member of this family, the cow parsnip (Heracleum maximum), grows wild across North America, and is considered a noxious weed. In several areas in North America, cultivated parsnips have...

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) Both the curly leaf form (P. crispum) and the Italian flat-leaf form (P. crispum var. neapolitanum) of this useful herb are members of the carrot family Apiaceae, and share a close botanical relationship to their cousin the parsnip (although the similarity in names is coincidental). As with most other members of this family, parsley grows feathery, deep-green foliage above a long taproot, and eventually flowers in its second year, sending up a tall umbel of white blooms that set masses of small, oily seeds. A third, less familiar variety of parsley is known as Hamburg parsley (P....

Leeks (Allium ampeloprasum, var. porrum, syn. A. porrum) This member of the Allium family is thought to have been in cultivation since the 2nd century BC, from ancient Egypt to Mesopotamia. The Romans believed that eating leeks imparted a sonorous voice — to the point that the emperor Nero had leek soup served to him every day in an effort to increase the volume and resonance of his orations. He was nicknamed the porrophage (porrum being the Latin for leek) by his senators, essentially “leek-mouth.” From what we know about leeks in the historical record, it’s possible they were cultivated...

Cress (Lepidium sativum) & Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) Cress (sometimes called garden cress, garden pepper cress, pepperwort, or pepper grass) is a leafy annual herb from the Brassica family. It is harvested when immature, around one to two weeks after germination, but will grow to a height of around 60cm (24”) if left undisturbed, and then form racemes of white flowers followed by small seedpods. The leaves and stems of young plants are crisp and succulent and high in water content, and the flavour is a bit spicy, similar to the closely related mustard greens. This makes for a surprisingly lively...

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) This annual herb is known officially as coriander just about everywhere outside of the Americas. We often think of the fresh leaves as cilantro, and the seeds (which are very easy to harvest) as coriander. Cilantro is the Spanish name for coriander. The plant is native to North Africa and Mediterranean Europe, and is a member of the carrot family, Apiaceae. Its close relatives include parsley, fennel, and dill, which is easy to see when the plant flowers, producing tall umbels of white flowers. Each cilantro “seed” is actually a schizocarp that can be divided into two...