Have you ever tried to buy fresh
cilantro? It doesn't last
long in the fridge, does it? To be fair, I think we are supposed to
put the stems in a glass of water in the fridge, and it will keep.
But even better is to just grow it yourself. Then you get to pick
what you need, when you need it. There is nothing to compare to
being able to go out in your jammies and picking all the cilantro you
want to use in your scrambled eggs! When have a hankering to make the simple restaurant salsa you'll just have to step out of your door to pick fresh cilantro that will put it over the top! Here's what you should know.
Cilantro likes
cool weather. Even though you really want to
eat it with your tomatoes in the heat of the summer, cilantro does
not like heat. The really good news is that once you grow cilantro,
you can keep it going forever. Plant cilantro seeds in either
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| Cilantro seedlings |
the spring or
fall. When planted in the fall, it will keep growing all winter long
here in the mid-south. All you do is go out and pinch off what you
need, as you need it. When the temperatures dip way down, your
cilantro may get its edges bitten, but come the first mild day, it
will perk right up and quickly put on a little bit of new growth.
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| Cilantro seeds--also known as Coriander |
Come spring, your fall plantings will start to get very tall.
That tall stem is a flower stalk. You can still eat it. When it
blooms, it will make umbel type blooms that attract beneficial
insects. I always let 2 or 3 plants go to seed and plant my spring
veggies around them. In June the seeds will turn brown and be
“ripe.” Here's what I do. I collect some for planting in the
fall. I use some for coriander. Yes, cilantro seeds are called
coriander. It sells for a nice price in a little bitty bottle, but
now you'll have your own. When you need it you can grind them up in
a coffee-grinder or in a suribachi mortar and pestle. I leave some
in the garden because for me, my best bet for the next season of
cilantro is from the seeds that I have left in the garden. Then,
even if I don't get out in the garden at the right time, or if my
head is trying to convince me that it's too hot to do my fall
planting, the cilantro volunteers sprouting alert me that it is
indeed time to plant the seeds of fall!
