Garden

[nomar]

So many recipes I love take cilantro. I cannot seem to get it to grow. I have it near my rosemary, parsley and basil and they are growing like crazy, but not the cilantro. Is it because of what we are sold or am I not doing something right? We used to live next to Vietnamese neighbors (we adored them) and they would have a cilantro bed like you would not believe. When we moved she gave me some plants from their garden and I had good luck with them. They have since moved from our town, so I have to rely on the ones I buy from shops. Having no luck with these plants at all.

[JustJazzmom]

Cilantro when I have grown it, tends to bolt or set seed very readily in high heat temperatures. So I no longer grow it in an herb pot.

[nomar]

I will give it a try to just plant in the ground with my flowers and garden. Come to think about it, the Vietnamese always planted theirs right in the ground and not in pots. I am going to try again. Thanks for the info.

[addiegal]

On 6/28/2014 JustJazzmom said:

Cilantro when I have grown it, tends to bolt or set seed very readily in high heat temperatures. So I no longer grow it in an herb pot.

Our cilantro is already past use as it is going to seed...it can not do well in the heat. It's more an early spring or fall plant. Ours in among my flowers and it reseeds and comes up from these. I love cilantro and we gathered some when it was at it's best this spring and stored in the freezer. It does have pretty delicate white flowers that can blend with your other flowers.

[Witchy Woman]

Have NEVER had luck with cilantro or parsley. It never thrives and just doesn't seem to lend itself to picking and using over a long period like basil.

Not to mention some little insect or slug getting to the plants before I can.

Our stores carry bundles of it year around so I just buy it when I need it rather than aggravate myself trying to grow it.

[mustbuyless]

I used to be able to grow cilantro (I think of it as coriander) very easily, but it's been several years. The one issue is that it all came up and was ready to pick at the same time. It's not like basil where you pinch off a few leaves and more grow. Instead, once you've got the leaves off any one stem, that stem is done for. So I've been thinking about doing a kind of staggered growing experiment, planting handful of seeds every week or so at different parts of the same pot. Harvest one lot and plant that side right away, etc.

I thought it was the easiest thing to take root...any pot, any soil. I didn't try it in the ground, though. I would soak coriander seeds (available easily in Indian stores, aka "dhania") overnight. Then just scatter them on the soil; cover with 1/4 inch more of soil. Put in hot sun and water regularly when the soil looks dry. Minimum fuss.

I do want to start a pot soon. Have just been lazy but your post is motivational, OP!

I'd like to grow it because while it's an indispensable part of my cooking, the store-bought bunches just rot so quickly in the fridge. In stores they also almost always snip off the roots, which are useful in Thai cooking. And by using healthy organic soil you can avoid pesticides and such. So for all those reasons, I do think it's worth growing at home.

BTW, I love the tip I got years ago on how to store it in the fridge. I'm sure everyone knows it by now. Fill a jar with clean water and stand the bunch in it. Cover loosely with a plastic bag. Works like a charm.

[kibbi]

yep, my plant looked great until the middle of june. It bolted and I even tried to keep cutting it back.

My sister tried to warn me when I bought the plant...she never had luck with it either.

[pjoy]

Cilantro is often a hard herb to grow and the dried version just doesn't compare to the fresh stuff. A salesperson at Penzys spices told me about culantro, which doesn't look like cilantro but tastes somewhat similar with a little kick. She said it is extremely easy to grow and seeds/plants are easy to find online. Here's a link to more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eryngium_foetidum