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- Slow-bolting varieties, such as ‘Costa Rica’, ‘Leisure’, and ‘Long Standing’ are the best choices for harvesting the leaves.
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Hi! I hope to give you some basic answers to your beginner questions like I have. I was impressed with how detailed you were with how you planted and don't want you to give up on gardening your own herbs. The best feeling for me is when I can season my food with fresh cut herbs and I, too, was disappointed with how quickly my cilantro "bolted."
Bolted is what you described your plants doing, it's when one shoot grows up usually the center of the plant and forms a flower head that, in this case, become the coriander spice/seeds for new cilantro plants. As the other person said (and I didn't know this, so I learned something new today!), cilantro grows better in lower temps and will bolt when it gets hot. Living in FL, I thought I had a few more weeks, but mine bolted starting in early April.
I continued to use the thinner leaves, not finding them bitter, but not as satisfying as the big flat leaves. I also learned that you can harvest the seeds while green, they are citrus-y and were delicious added to salads, marinades, etc. So you can keep harvesting from plants that bolt. You can even let some of the coriander seeds dry on the stalk, then harvest them. I am in that process for the first time today!
I guess if we want cilantro bunches a la the grocery store in our states, we will have to grow them indoors and in lots of pots started 3 weeks apart. Don't cut the plant all the way back, leave 3-4 shoots, so the plant will survive the trimming. I will have to find a good windowsill, because while mine was growing this spring, it became a favorite!
Five plants also might have been a lot of herbs in one pot - I know basil likes lots of room for roots and is a water hog. Not sure how cilantro compares.
Good luck and keep gardening!
This herb has a short harvest cycle if it is hot and that is just the way it is. To keep it growing in the Southwest, it may be best to plant in the fall and it may keep growing until spring when the weather heats up again. If you would like more harvest, you also want to start multiple plants 3 weeks apart. If you plant outside, you can just let cilantro drop its seeds when it is done and more plants will grow!
I love coriander seeds in my pepper grinder with amixed pepper blend and all spice , also a lot of asian dishes call for ground coriander so if it goes to seed it isnt nessicarily wasted.
I'm looking at a full grown plant with flowering. The stems have green and some purple redish stem. Mostly green above never grown before so would appreciate suggestions
I am volunteering at a community garden. The cilantro is veru tall & limp. The leaves are very small. The plant appeared to be very dry. Should they be staked?
Cilantro is really a cool-weather plant (spring and fall) and won't grow well in summer heat. This is what you are seeing: When the weather gets warm, the plant bolts and sends up a long, lanky flower stalks that will later seed. Even in cool conditions, cilantro yields a fast crop; plants are barely up before they try to flower and set seeds. Two weeks tops. So those tasty leaves aren't around long, especially in warm weather.
Since I have already planted my cilantro seeds too late, (6/16) should I just let them bloom? I now know it is a cooler weather plant so what should I do with the little leaves I am getting? Should I keep cutting until fall- any suggestions from community will be greatly appreciated!
This post is a great guide for growing Coriander...In truth, cilantro is not the easiest herb to grow. It's very delicate. This post is very helpful!
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