Celery and Parsley Results

This year, for the first time, we started celery and parsley from seed. That was back in February. Here's where we are today:

Looking good, right? 

Alas, I cannot take credit for the sudden lush growth of our celery and parsley seedlings. These are all transplants that we had to go out and buy to replace our pitiful ones.

So what happened? Well, for starters, celery and parsley are notoriously difficult to start from seed. We managed a quick germination, but from there on it was very, very slow growth. They were still super-tiny in April, and died shortly after I planted them outside in early May.

I'm not exactly sure what happened. We've been dealing with cutworms big-time this month, so that's a possibility. We also had some critter issues this spring. Fletch dispatched with a couple rabbits, and Kirk took out a groundhog with a lucky throw of a baseball bat (there's actually more to it than that, but I'm going to spare you there Game-of-Thrones-esque details). 

Any one of those pests could have been responsible. It's also possible that the plants were just too small and gave up on life. All I know is that they disappeared without a trace.

I guess next year we'll try again, but we'll start the seeds much, much earlier. Like Christmas.

Anyway, here's a fun quiz to cheer you (okay, me) up. Can you tell the difference between young celery and parsley plants?

The reason they look so much alike is because they are both from the apiaceae family, which also includes carrots, parsnips, cilantro, dill, fennel, lovage, and sweet cicely. It is a very tasty family of veggies and herbs. The trouble is, though, they all look almost exactly alike when they germinate, so it helps to have a clear planting plan to keep track — especially when it's time to thin the seedlings.

Anyway, did you make a guess about which is which? 

Answer: Celery is on top, parsley on the bottom. As they get bigger, it will be much easier to tell.