Parsley, beautiful parsley!

Two days ago, out of the blue, a neighborhood friend called me and asked if I wanted to transplant some parsley from her yard to mine. Apparently, her unwanted plants were quite aggressive and choking out the beautiful hydrangea bush that she actually wanted in the flower bed.

I was thrilled with such a phone call! My cupboard supply of parsley has been depleted for several years now. With us having just moved last October, a good parsley harvest this season was not looking very likely. What I found when I showed up at my friend's house was a 4' x 4' spot completely taken over by three foot tall parsley bushes! Major excitement at this moment! They were definitely going to fill my parsley jars and some. These massive parsley bushes were second year parsley plants and just about to start flowering.

My youngest and I processing the parsley before hanging on our solar clothes dryer.

Side note on harvesting: The best time to harvest parsley for use is while the plant is focused on leaf production right before they send up their flower stalk. Once parsley has sent up its flower stalk and started flowering, it puts all of its energy into those flowers and the leaves just don't have as great of a flavor. During a typical season we will harvest a branch here or there for use, but once we see that flower stalk coming on we do a major haircut and hang the parsley to dry.

Cleaning off debris from parsley before rinsing off and hanging to dry.

So there I was, staring at these abundant parsley plants and feeling very blessed and loved by God. Why, might you ask, am I so excited for parsley and why do I consider parsley such a heavenly blessing? Not only is parsley an amazing plant that tastes great, but it also has many health benefits.

Parsley is most commonly used by people as a digestive aid. Most of us are familiar with the sprig of parley on the plate at restaurants. In case you didn't know, that sprig is more than just a decoration, you are supposed to chew on it once you are done with your meal to help freshen your breath and aid your body with digesting the delicious meal that you just ate.

Take a look at the root on that parsley plant.

From a gardener's perspective, parley roots are massive, which means that they are going down deep and pulling up hard-to-get nutrition. Parsley is loaded with Vitamin A, "three times as much vitamin C as oranges, and twice as much iron as spinach; it is also a good source of copper and manganese".(1) Parsley's nutrient profile makes it a great addition to any meal. If you are wanting to enhance your broth or soup with parsley, it is best to add your parsley during the last 15 minutes of cooking. That way the nutrient value of parsley stays intact, plus adding it at the end will impart additional mineral ions to the broth. (3)

In the spring of 2017, I ended up with a UTI that turned into a kidney infection which kept me in bed for almost a month. I drank a quart of parsley tea daily while suffering with the infection, and then I continued drinking the tea daily for a week afterwards (which just happens to be the time when my amazing stash of dried parsley disappeared). You see, parsley is a natural diuretic and detoxifying, which makes it great for cleaning out your kidneys and urinary tract of unwanted infectious organisms. Plus, parsley tea tastes amazing. Even if you are not suffering from an infection, regularly drinking a parsley broth is not only tasty but your body will thank you. Just add a spoonful of coconut oil and a shake or two of salt to transform your tea into an enjoyable broth.

After labor and delivery, parsley tea is a great option for new moms. Parsley tea will help increase milk flow and help contract the uterus, basically locking it down. Parsley works the same for your farm animals, too. For those with lactating farm animals, feeding parsley to your goats, sheep, or cows will help with increasing their milk production. Last night as we were finishing hanging the parsley to dry on our drying wrack (old solar clothes dryer), we took an armful of parsley to the goats in their pen and they swarmed it. More milk in the morning!

Can you tell she likes it!

Speaking of animals... anyone who owns a pet rabbit or two or twenty knows that rabbits love parsley! I've seen a rabbit go from comatose sleep to nibbling out of my hand in seconds when presented with fresh parsley.The parsley will not only help supply nutrients to your bunny, but it also helps your rabbit to have healthy kidneys, better blood, good digestion, and some even believe that parsley helps your bucks to be more fertile and your does to produce more kits. Which if you are breeding rabbits, this is a definite win. (2)

Lambs like parsley too!

The remaining parsley that we did not hang on the wrack for our personal use was hung to dry in a shed out back for the animals.

One of the animal batches drying.

Now I am looking forward to winter time again, with nourishing bone broths with parsley added, parsley tea, and all of those Italian dishes that we add parsley to. Yum!

Disclaimer: I am not a health professional and anything read on this blog and acted upon is done at the readers discretion and the reader takes full responsibility of their own actions.

Sources:

1. Wood, Rebecca. The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia. New York, New York, Penguin Group, 1999.
2. Worden, Rick. (2012,06,09). Medicinal Herbs For Rabbits. www.riseandshinerabbitry.com
3. Rubin, Jordan. The Great Physician's Rx for Colds and Flus. Nashville, Tennessee, Nelson Books. 2006.