Do you try growing parsley from seed, or do you buy plants? Parsley is incredibly easy to grow, not so easy from seed, though it will self-seed once it gets going.

If you can grow basil and mint, I suspect you might be watering your other plants too much. Tell us a bit more about the position you put your plants (in sun, shade, partial shade) and your soil (sandy? clay? well fertilised?), and something about the drainage of that soil. Does it stay wet for a long time after it's watered? Does the water sit on the surface and not soak in? or what? Are you plants in pots? Something about your climate would also help.

Meantime, go to the bottom of the page of questions, and find the Search bar. By browsing through past posts, you'll pick up a lot of information about growing the herbs you mention, and many more.

moonchile

I see that you are in zone 8. OK, down here in the hot, humid south, we divide herbs up into the "cool-weather herbs" and the "hot-weather herbs". Lots of herbs that say "plant in the spring" pertain to the northern part of the U.S.A. Here in the south, if you want to plant them in the spring, plant them very early and realize that most will die just as soon as it starts getting "hot". It actually is better if you plant them around mid to late October for a longer growing season. And then there are some herbs that can be over wintered or over summered providing they are growing in the right location of your gardens.

Also be sure that your herbs are in a well drained area. Most herbs don't like "wet feet". Also add lots of compost and lots of mulch. When our air temperatures are 95° the soil near the roots of the plant can register 120°. Thus the need for lots of mulch which protects the herbs both in the summer and in the winter.

Some of the "cool-weather herbs" for the south are:

Both the curly-leaf parsley a/k/a French parsley and the flat-leaf parsley a/k/a Italian parsley are easy to grow and attractive in the garden. These are "cool-weather herbs" that need to be planted in either early spring or late fall. Being a biennial, it flowers the second year and dies, but if you keep the flower stalk cut back, you might keep it for yet another year. It is best to plant a new plant each fall for a constant supply.

Some more "cool-weather herbs" are cilantro, dill, fennel, chervil, salad burnet, and sorrel to name just a few.

Some of the "warm-weather herbs" are basil, lemon grass, lemon verbena, culantro, ginger, Mexican mint marigold a/k/a Texas tarragon, and Mexican oregano. Rosemary is a perennial that will, should, grow year round in the south providing you are growing it in a well-drained bed.

Try checking out which herbs you need to plant at what time of the year, and you should have a very successful herb garden. Good luck.

Another good idea would be to check with your county Master Gardener program to see if they can give you more information about planting in Georgia.

GA Extension Department recommends planting parsley in early spring/late summer as Itcollins1949 mentions. If growing from seed, remember to soak the seeds in water overnight before planting. I didn't have any luck with it before I saw and paid attention to soak before planting.

It can be a challenge in GA, but I think it is well worth the effort to grow fresh herbs. It took me three years to get thyme (which is supposed to be one of the easier herbs) to grow in our garden. So don't give up.

You will need an Adobe Acrobat reader to open the publication in this link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Herbs In Southern Gardens.

Can parsley be cut back if it gets stragely? will this help it grow in more full? And once it flowers is it too late to save it? or is that the end of the road?

Many herbs respond to regular clipping by getting bushier or just by growing new leaves to replace the snipped ones. I find the latter more common with parsley in my garden but others may have had different results.

As far as blooming, enjoy the flowers because once it bolts the game is pretty much over. Parsley is a biennial (a plant with a 2-year life cycle). Blooming and the subsequent seed maturation completes that life cycle. It's time for new parsley once the blooming starts.

FataMorgana

I've found that if you let the parsley go to seed it will do a much better job of reseeding itself that you will in trying to plant it by seeds. Parsley also doesn't like being moved once its bigger than 5 or 6 leaves as it has a long tap root. The parsley is a nice greenish Queen Anne's lace type flower when blooming. I let it reseed freely and if I don't like where the new plants are volunteering I move them or pull them up. With this method I haven't bothered buying or planting seeds for cilantro, parsley, or dill for many, many years now.

Since we're both in Georgia my experience may be of a bit of help. I have parsley plants (I've heard that it's hard to start from seed, so I get little plants in the spring) that are thriving in VERY sandy soil in full morning and midday sun. The one closest to the house may get a bit of shade in the late afternoon. I have a drip irrigation system that waters them daily. Mine seem to love these conditions, and get huge. Maybe the secret is a combination of well-drained soil and regular water? They're in the same bed with thyme, sage and basil, all of which are doing well, and chives which seem to be struggling. (The basil VIGOROUSLY self-seeds EVERYWHERE, by the way... it's a good thing we like it, and have friends who love to make pesto!)

Glad I decided to check out this forum. Just planted my first herbs in wee hours of Friday morning.

I just reread the Flat Leaf Parsley packet and it doesn't tell you to soak seeds before sowing. I just looked at the packet of Dark Moss Curled Parsley (for butterfly garden) which I haven't sown yet and it DOES tell you to soak seeds for 24 hours before sowing. Both are Burpee seeds.

Should I yank the Flat Leaf Parsley and start over after soaking fresh seeds for 24 hours?

This being my first time growing anything from seed I read and reread the package instructions and check online to verify sowing instructions...LOL. It's like trying to follow a new cooking/baking recipe.

Thank goodness there's enough seed in each herb packet for trial and error my first time around!

Suggest that you just keep that planted parsley seeds well watered every day, until you see some sprouts. All is not lost yet.

ksrogers, you were correct about the parsley.

They sprouted just a little later than the basil and thyme I had sown in a clear egg container to start.

Didn't know parsley had a long tap root.

Not sure when to pot up the little seedlings and not sure how I'm going to separate the tiny little things to pot them up.

Will they just die if potted up in their tiny little clumps? Split the clumps VERY carefully into two parts and pot up? Will the most hardy in the clump survive on its own and others die off or clip all but one tiny seedling after putting in pot?

I better see if there's a FAQs for this forum so I'm not asking such elementary questions.

I've never grown parsley before and I've never been very good at growing anything from seed. I "winter sowed" parsley this past winter/spring and I believe every single seed germinated! lol I've got more parsley than I know what to do with!

Harvest it and dry in in a dehydrator. It dries well and has a decent flavor.