A delicious aromatic and anese like tasting herb. This is one of the herbs than can be used for all-year-round fresh haversting. Delicious with meat, fish, soups, stews, dressings, herb butter and salads. Don't let it cook to long because the green leaves then change to grey. Can be frozen for storage.
Outdoor sowing: half February - end of July & half September
Germination: 14 - 21 days
Germination temp.: 5 - 18 °C
Sowing depth: ½ cm
Plant distance: 15 - 20 cm
Plant position: half-shaded - sunny
Harvest in: 50 - 60 days
Chervil has a long pen root and doesn't respond well to transplanting. It's possible to sow chervil indoors in large pots. Large amounts of chervil are sown outdoors. This hardy plant can witstand cold, but it bolts when the days grow longer in late spring and summer. You can prevent premature bolting by sowing on a moist spot with shade.
Sow outdoors under glass from the middle of February till the end of March. Sow outdoors on a moist spot with a lot of shade and free draining soil from april till the end of july. Sow outdoors under glass from the middle of September. Sow the seeds max. ½ cm deep and press gently in the soil. Cover the seeds with a very thin layer of soil. Chervil is a light germinator. Sow the seeds 15 - 20 cm apart. Germination can take longer during dry and warm weather. But normally germination takes 14 - 21 days, depending on the outdoor temperature and the soil temperature. Keep moist and weedfree.
Thin the seedlings, when they're large enough to handle, to 15 - 20 cm apart. Water enough to keep the soil moist and to prevent the plants from bolting. Harvest the leaves with some stem approx. 6 - 8 weeks after sowing by cutting them 5 cm above the soil with a sharp and clean knife. This way the plant can grow on for a later harvest. Harvest as often as possible to prevent premature bolting of the plant. Sow for a continious harvest every 3 - 4 weeks a small amount of seeds. Chervil is a member of the umbell family. Keep this in mind with the croprotation. Chervil can be kept max. 2 days in the fridge after harvesting. Drying of the leaves causes lost of flavour.
Chervil can also be grown indoors in large flowerpots. Use fertile soil. Put some schards of old flower pots in the bottom and mix some grit, perlite or vermiculite with the soil for drainage. Sow from January till the end of March or from October. Sow small amounts of seeds approx. ½ cm deep. Cover the seeds with a very thin layer of soil. Keep the temperature as even as possible and don't let the temperature drop during the night. Keep the soil moist. Put the pots on a sunny spot after the germination. Keep the soil moist but not waterlogged to prevent molting. Harvest the leaves regurlarly to prevent bolting. Give the plants in pots some liquid fertilizer after approx. 8 weeks.
