Why buy cilantro when you can easily grow these healthy and tasty herbs and have them for free? This easy and simple guide on how to grow cilantro with helpful tips can definitely help!
Learn How To Grow Cilantro For A Free And Fresh Supply
Growing cilantro, indeed, was frustrating at first. Before I could even enjoy the fresh herbs, they grow flowers and thin leaves which tasted funny. That was before I knew the secrets to growing cilantro which I found in this video from homeclick. Now, I've got lovely cilantro growing out in my herb garden and in my indoor herb garden. Want to know how to grow cilantro as well as the secrets to growing them successfully? Read on for smart tips and to find out what excellent treat come from growing this herb.
How To Grow Cilantro
Growing cilantro can be tricky if you don't know your way around it. You see, unlike basil or parsley, cilantro doesn'tt continue producing all throughout the growing season. When the plants mature and you don't harvest, they will go to seed quickly. What you can do is sow in succession or sow just enough seeds about once a month from spring through late summer. Follow the simple steps here to get started:
Step One: Preparing Plant Bed
Make a square foot plant bed or veggie patch and get rid of weeds or large chunks of soil by using a garden fork. Prepare your soil by amending it or you can check here to learn how to prepare organic garden soil. It's good to note that cilantro likes moist and well-draining soil.
Step Two: Sowing Cilantro Seeds
Pour seeds into your palm and spread the seeds over the soil bed. About 20 seeds are enough for each month of sowing starting in late April through August. Press them in so they're half an inch under the soil.
Step Three: Thinning Or Transplanting
Cilantro seeds grow quickly so you might have to thin them when they've grown 3 to 4 inches long. You can also transplant the seedlings but you'll have to be careful not to disturb the roots. Be sure to transplant on a rainy day and before the seedlings get too big. But if seedlings are too close to each other you might have to cut it off.
Harvesting Cilantro
Cilantro herbs are ready to harvest when the plants are full and bushy. Harvest the stems and leaves as you need them using scissors or pruning shears. Cut through all the stems and leaves leaving at least two inches from the base. This will allow the cilantro plant to regenerate new fresh leaves for you to harvest. Cilantro can regenerate about three times until they call it quits.
Tips For Growing Cilantro
One of the challenges of growing cilantro is that it can quickly go to seeds especially in hot weather. Once this happens, the leaves can become bitter. However, you can welcome this prospect since the seed of cilantro is coriander. It's a herb seed you can dry and store for both culinary and medicinal purposes. Besides culinary purposes, you can collect the seeds to grow in the future so you don't have to buy cilantro seeds again.
Check the full guide on how to grow cilantro in this video:
Don't you thing growing cilantro easy peasy? Now you also know the tips and tricks to growing it successfully. Always keep your kitchen well-supplied with this health-boosting herb for your convenience. Keep those favorite recipes of yours spiced up with fresh cilantro grown in your garden!
Tried growing your own fresh cilantro? Tell me all about it in the comments section below!
How about rosemary? You may want to learn how to propagate rosemary from cuttings in this simple growing guide!
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in March 2016 and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
Feature image source via Farmer Jay
