 How to harvest parsley? Parsley is fairly easy to grow and even easier to harvest, but in order to get the best yield and flavor, there are a few protocols you should observe. First-year parsley plants should be harvested for their leaves, while second-year plants are generally harvested for their seeds. Harvest parsley leaves. Choose younger plants. Younger parsley plants have the strongest flavor. The leaves can be harvested even after the first year, but if you have the option of harvesting leaves from a plant in its first year of growth, doing so will give you the best yield and product. Wait until the leaf stems have three segments. Check the stems. If the stems have three or more clusters of leaves, they are mature enough to harvest from. Stems with one or two segments should be left alone. Most parsley plants will be ready to harvest from within 70 to 90 days after you initially plant them. Cut at the base of the plant. When harvesting entire stems or bunches of parsley, sniff the herb off at the base of the plant instead of cutting from the top. Cutting the parsley near the base of the plant will encourage the plant to produce even more stems, resulting in an overall bushier parsley plant with an improved yield. Cut leaves from the outer portions. If you only plan on harvesting a few small sprigs of parsley for immediate use, you should snip them off from the outer portion of the plant and not from the inside. Even if you plan on cutting a few full sprigs at the base of the plant, you should cut from the outside instead of the inside. The inner part of the plant will benefit from being able to mature longer.Removing leaves from the outside will ensure that the oldest growth is being harvested, thereby preventing it from browning or otherwise remaining on the plant too long.Harvesting old growth also allows the plant to focus its energy on producing and maturing the newer growth. This effort will produce an overall healthier parsley plant. Harvest continually. Parsley will continue to grow throughout the entire season, even after you harvest the leaves. As such, you can have a steady supply of the herb and do not need to harvest it all at once. Parsley grown outdoors will usually remain a vibrant green until late fall to early winter. Once the color starts to fade, its flavor will decline dramatically. Until that happens, though, you can keep harvesting the plant on an ongoing basis without a loss to the herb's flavor or health. Harvest in bulk at the end of the season. If your parsley is kept outdoors and unprotected, it will die off during the winter. Before that happens, harvest the rest of it so that the plant has a chance to grow back the following year. Parsley will continue to grow throughout the winter if you keep it protected in a warm place indoors. Make sure that the indoor plant receives plenty of sunlight on a daily basis by placing it near a sunny window. If you have an indoor parsley plant, you do not need to make a final harvest before winter. Instead, continue harvesting the parsley on an, as needed, basis. Use your fresh parsley as desired. Parsley is best used fresh. It can, however, be stored for several months if necessary, but the flavor will not be as strong once you dry out the herb. If you cut off the leaves a little at a time, it is recommended that you use the parsley immediately. If you cut more than you can use for a single meal, wrap the rest in a damp paper towel and store them in the refrigerator for up to two days. If you want to pull several sprigs at one time, you can place entire sprigs of parsley in water and store them in the refrigerator for up to seven days.