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Old December 5, 2010   #25
kath
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: zone 6b, PA
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Originally Posted by Ruth_10 View Post
Kath,
Tell me about growing cilantro in the fall--when you start it, how cold hardy it is.
My DH and I were discussing this just the other night. I dislike cilantro but he likes it AND he's gotten into trying out Indian cooking. We grow it in the spring, mostly from volunteers, but it bolts in the blink of an eye. Seems like fall growing it would be slower to bolt?
Ruth,
I've only grown it for a couple years but find I have the best luck when I plant it densely in some type of container or in a raised bed. This year I started 3 varieties early indoors in 3" pots with a few dozen seeds in each container; then they got transplanted into a large pot on my front porch that I used for several types of herbs. "Calypso" from Johnny's was the last to bolt compared to "Santo" and "Large Leaf Cilantro". When it got warmer outside and the over-wintered spinach in a raised bed bolted, I planted an 18" square dense patch and I can still harvest from it in the interior that hasn't frozen from out 24 degrees nights. The bed is to the north of a blueberry bush, and on the west side of the garden, so it gets a bit of shade in the afternoon once Sept. comes, so that may have helped, but this is the best year for it I've ever had.
Hope that helps.
Kath
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