Saving and Germinating Parsley Seeds

I have been collecting parsley seeds for the last few weeks.  I grew both flat leaf and curly parsley from seed in 2009.  They grew all summer/fall last year and overwintered in the garden.  This year, the same plants grew for a bit in the spring and then bolted quickly.  The flowers were pretty and attracted lots of beneficial insects (see the last picture in this post) and now they are giving me seeds.  I even made a parsley seed bouquet, inspired by the Ottawa Gardener.

I sowed some seeds two weekends ago to test their germination rates.  After 9 days, over 90 percent of the parsley seeds had already germinated.  Not bad, eh?  Here are a couple of pictures.

Since both flat leaf and curly parsley grew and flowered so close to each other, I could not distinguish between the two varieties when I collected the seeds.  I also don't know if they cross-pollinated.  It will be interesting to see what kind of parsley grows from these seeds.

If you're thinking of growing some parsley next year (or even this year indoors) and need some seeds, I have plenty to share, as long as you're not picky between flat leaf or curly parsley!