Parsley 'Gigante d’Italia' Seeds

Gigante d’Italia is a big, broad-leaved Italian flat-leaf parsley that crops heavily and keeps going well into the cold months. The leaves are dark green and glossy with a fresh, slightly peppery taste, carried on thick stems that are also chopped and cooked like celery in Italy, hence its other name, Sellerina. Use it by the handful in tabbouleh, salsa verde and gremolata, or scatter it over roasts and soups. Petroselinum crispum 'Gigante d’Italia' grows to about 45 cm and does as well in a deep pot as it does in the vegetable bed.

Sowing and growing

• Sow indoors in modules March to April, or outdoors April to July; a July sowing gives leaves through autumn and into winter in a sheltered spot.
• Sow 1 cm deep. Soaking the seed in warm water overnight speeds things up.
• Germination is slow, usually 3 to 4 weeks, so keep the compost moist and be patient.
• Full sun or partial shade, in moist, fertile soil.
• Grows to about 45 cm tall and 20 cm wide.
• First cuts about 10 to 12 weeks after sowing, then pick regularly from the outside.
• Hardy biennial: leafy in its first year, then flowers and sets seed in its second.

What you receive: a packet of about 125 seeds from Piccolo Seeds, with growing instructions on the back.

Browse our full range of herb and vegetable seeds, or pair it with chives and basil in the Kitchen Herbs seed collection.