Herb · Apiaceae
When to plant chervil
Bolts almost immediately in heat and sun, so it is a spring, autumn and winter herb grown in shade rather than a summer one.
Sow direct
4 weeks before
Counted from your last spring frost.
Days to maturity
60-80
From sowing to a first picking.
Frost tolerance
Hardy
How much cold the plant itself will take.
Those weeks become real dates once you name a place.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
Seed packets rarely give calendar dates, because a date that suits one latitude is wrong at another. They give offsets from the last spring frost instead, and those offsets are what make chervil plantable anywhere.
- Sow direct 4 weeks before the last frost.
- Expect 60–80 days to maturity, counted from sowing.
- Sow again every 21 days for a continuous supply.
- Can also be sown in late summer for an autumn crop or to overwinter.
Getting the timing right
Sow direct in succession from four weeks before the last frost, then stop for high summer and resume in late summer. An autumn sowing under cover picks through winter.
Frost tolerance
Tolerates about -8C and grows through mild winters in a cold frame, which is when it is at its best.
Classified as hardy, with damage expected below -8°C (17.6°F)17.6°F (-8°C).