When is cilantro ready to be picked

Learn how your comment data is processed. Please check settings. Just wanted to say you have a great site. Could you post a link to your recipe for compost tea. I see some use manure and water and molasses. But I do not want to use molasses.

Thank you. Hi Grammy. Several recipes for compost tea were posted on April 15, No molasses needed! I wonder if the volunteer was acclimated because it was seeded in cooler weather? The plant was always very low to the ground the whole time, not upright like cilantro usually grows. I would assume that helped it survive. If the warm winter has helped your cilantro get an early start, protect it with a cloche should temperatures unexpectedly dip.

Cuisines of India, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa have featured cilantro for over 1, years, and National Public Radio reports that the seeds of the plant were found in 8,year-old caves in Israel.

The Europeans brought the seeds to the Americas in the s, and cilantro soon found its way into the cuisines of the American Southwest, Mexico and Latin America.

As with most plants, cilantro is best planted after the last frost of the year. It grows best in cooler climates, which means the U. Department of Agriculture recommends it to be grown in hardiness zones 3 through 8 in those climates that spring planting is suggested.

In warmer areas, the hardiness zones are 9 to 11, and fall planting is recommended. The plant does not do well in hot and humid weather, and it grows best when the temperatures range between 68 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit. Choose a sunny location in your vegetable garden, and plant the seeds or seedlings in soil that drains well and space them at least 2 inches apart. Use nitrogen fertilizer sparingly and apply mulch to the growing plant. Look for delicate white cilantro flowers to appear and watch for bees to show up.

Then, using a pair of scissors or your hands snip the stems of these leaves, about an inch from the surface of the soil. Harvest about a quarter to a third of the leaves, to allow new growth to develop for continuous production!

It takes around days or 4 months after planting the initial seeds for the plant to start flowering and set seed. During this period, you can get multiple harvests which can extend throughout the spring and into the early days of summer, before it gets hot enough for the plant to bolt. Once they reach a height of around inches, they are ready for the first harvest. Using the cut and come again method you can have multiple harvests throughout the 4-month period that the plant grows new leaves, before it bolts.

You can easily tell when cilantro is about to flower by observing the leaves. You can also leave some of the seeds so they can fall to the ground and self-seed. Like other similar herbs and leafy green veggies, once picked, cilantro can wilt quickly and lose its color and flavor.

So, if you do not plan on using your harvested cilantro right away, you will need to store the leaves properly so they can last longer. The easiest way to make sure no cilantro goes to the compost pile or the trash is to always try to harvest as much as you need to use at the moment. You can store a cilantro bunch in a glass or jar of water to keep it fresh for a few days or even longer, especially if you keep the jar in the fridge.

Just place the cilantro leaves in a container with an inch of water and remember to change the water occasionally to keep the herb fresh. This method will keep the leaves fresh for days or up to a week. Another good method of storing cilantro is to chop it up, place it in ice-cube trays, add some water to cover the freshly-minced herb and store the trays in the freezer. This way the herbs can last up to 4 months and even longer.

One of the oldest methods of storing fresh cilantro so you can use it for cooking and tea all year long is to dry it. While you can dry your cilantro leaves in the oven, if you want to avoid losing too much of the flavor, stick to hang-drying.

All you need to do is take a few cilantro leaves, tie them up together in a bunch using a string and hand them upside down in a well-ventilated area.

If you follow our simple and straightforward guide to harvesting cilantro, you can have multiple harvests throughout the season so you can make all your favorite dishes with spice and herbs straight from your garden. So, if you want to easily grow your own fresh cilantro at home try one of our customizable roll-out gardens and build your dream garden today!

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