secrets of growing cilantro?
 

Do you have to sow it often and thickly? I'm used to planting herbs and forgetting about them until I want to use them, and this approach does not work for cilantro!

My partner (not a gardener) offered to look after some plants for someone else for a month or so, and one pot is the dreaded cilantro. It's up a couple inches, and was kept in the house. We don't really have a sunny window. What's the best way to keep it happy?

My own cilantro has long since bolted, and I haven't gotten around to planting more.

Grow it as cool as possible, which for most places in the summer isn't realistic. So I think the only alternative is to sow often and sow thickly. That's the one thing I don't grow for the salsa we make, I get it at the farmer's market. It is an irritating herb to grow.

expect it to bolt. Don't expect it to stay in the leaf stage more than a week or two depending on the temperatures. It is a plant that needs reseeding directly in the herb garden regularly.

I dont know about where you guys live but where I live it is as cheap as rotten duck eggs.
They practically give the stuff away.
If I were to grow it, it would be for the roots and seeds.
Yes all parts of the plant are edible.

Worth

Sow often, some shade helps keep it from bolting.
Am currently experimenting with growing it under tomatoes.
It is growing slowly, so hopefully it will not bolt so fast.

[QUOTE=jmsieglaff;488477]Grow it as cool as possible, which for most places in the summer isn't realistic. So I think the only alternative is to sow often and sow thickly. That's the one thing I don't grow for the salsa we make, I get it at the farmer's market. It is an irritating herb to grow.[/QUOTE]

I agree on the irritating aspect. You have to sow every 2 weeks or so to have decent pre-bolt leaves at your disposal.

There was very little, if any, discernible difference between homegrown and purchased, and that was reason enough for me stop growing it.

Pops on the other hand, swears by it.

Grow it in the spring and fall. It's a cool season crop. That's why it bolts in the summer.

My neighbor grows it profusely.He calls it the "fall down over plant"(elder Trinidadian man)He showed me how it jumps up,falls over reseats(reroots)itself.Somewhat like arugula,poppy,some cabbage and lettuce varieties.He showed me how to dense plant,keeping soil only 3/4 up in propagating starting container(so as to use the sides as a holding wall,no sprawling)Then when he puts it into ground he uses round(cut from plastic clear containers)about 6 inch collars to keep plant upright.He says they need to hold each other up.He grows them for the seed(coriander).Him and his wife make some great recipes and do a lot of pickling with the seeds.

Routine watering is also pretty important for cilantro - mine does better if I keep the growing mix damp.

I grow it everywhere there's an open spot and if it bolts it's ok because the beneficial insects love the little white flowers. I just plant more while I wait for the seeds to form and ripen on the bolted plants. It is harder to keep it going during the hottest part of the summer but I have it in abundance the rest of the year except during the coldest part of the winter.

It is cheap in the stores so I don't mind buying it if I need more than I can cut from my own garden but I love having a pretty steady supply anytime I want it. I frequently run out to cut just a little to sprinkle over a sliced tomato or into a bowl of salsa.

I remember reading somewhere it is supposed to deter aphids, but my balcony garden last year proved otherwise - aphids seemed to love crawling on it, yuck.
So far, this year has been aphid-free... Hope that it will continue to be that way. Aphids are not welcome here!

[QUOTE=RobinB;488530]Grow it in the spring and fall. It's a cool season crop. That's why it bolts in the summer.[/QUOTE]


I found that to be the case with Cilantro. The heat will cause it to bolt quickly.

It can take some really cold weather and during the dead of winter is the only time it doesn't bolt down here. One or two warm days and bam! its bolted. It is just too much trouble and bolts way too soon and when it is way too small during the time of the year when I'm getting tomatoes ripe off the vine for fresh salsa.

Bill

[QUOTE=b54red;489169]It can take some really cold weather and during the dead of winter is the only time it doesn't bolt down here. One or two warm days and bam! its bolted. It is just too much trouble and bolts way too soon and when it is way too small during the time of the year when I'm getting tomatoes ripe off the vine for fresh salsa.

Bill[/QUOTE]

We're pretty close to the northern edge of Alabama and I can grow it most of the time!
I'm thinking you must be in LA . . . Lower Alabama!

A farmer brings beautiful cilantro to my farmer's market all summer long, but only because she grows it in an air-conditioned greenhouse.

Mine in summer turns into this 18" tall flowering weed. While I'm sort of curious to grow it, I cannot tell the difference in home grown cilantro and what we get for 28 cents at the grocery store.

LA - Pensacola through Tallahassee.

I plant cilantro early and often, filling every nook and cranny available. There is one variety, Calypso, that has been far slower to bolt for me. I'm actually waiting for it to bolt so I can save seeds, but it's still nice and compact. It's the only variety that's actually lasted longer for me. Caribe and Slo-Bolt (sp?) were a bust for me last year, bolting as quickly as the self-seeded stuff that comes up every year.

Annnnnnd this is why it's worth growing your own cilantro, even with it being so cheap in grocery stores here: [url]http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/Mexican-Cilantro-Again-Blamed-for-Texas-Cyclospora-Outbreak-318683481.html[/url]

A few drops of iodine and a 10-15 min rinse takes care of pretty much all pathogens quite nicely.

I hate to be the one to say it, but if ppl are too lazy to wash high risk foods (strawberries, cilantro, lettuces, etc) then they deserve to spray at both ends.

[QUOTE=Gerardo;494163]A few drops of iodine and a 10-15 min rinse takes care of pretty much all pathogens quite nicely.

I hate to be the one to say it, but if ppl are too lazy to wash high risk foods (strawberries, cilantro, lettuces, etc) then they deserve to [COLOR=Red]spray at both ends.[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

I had that happen in Italy from a bad sandwich, I took one bite knew it was bad but it was too late.:(
To this day I will not eat pre-made sandwiches from any place.
I have seen this stuff several days old in the airport.

As far as the stuff in the store if there is feces there is more than likely parasites, human parasites.

I'm getting creeped out.:lol:

Worth

I really love cilantro, will go to extra trouble to get it to germinate in the summer. Germinating it in hot weather is the main challenge -- once you've coaxed it into germinating, it'll be fine. (But, as folks have said, it bolts fast in the heat, so do need to do succession sowings once a month.)

Folks already mentioned growing it in the shade... adding on to that:
-- I'll sometimes put the seed in the fridge or the freezer for a few days beforehand.
-- Sow seeds in the evening, water in with cold water.
-- After covering seeds with dirt, then shade the soil with burlap, brown paper bags, cardboard, etc. til the seedlings emerge (5-7 days). As soon as the seedlings emerge, take the burlap etc. off right away, otherwise the grasshoppers and other bugs that're also enjoying the shade under there will enjoy eating the blanched and tender seedlings...

I've never had any problems germinating Cilantro. No chilling necessary - great germination right out of the seed packet. But what with the heat & humidity here in Virginia, I've only had success after germination with diligent successive sowings every couple of weeks. As soon as one sowing starts breaking & is a few inches tall, I start another section. Pretty much keeps me in Cilantro all season long.