How to plant cilantro correctly, and which variety is better to choose

Which variety to choose

Before choosing a variety of cilantro, you need to decide for what purpose you need the spice. If for greens, then it is better to stop the choice on vegetable varieties – they are distinguished by high aromaticity, special tenderness of the leaves and a late flowering period. If cilantro is grown for coriander, then varieties should be planted from which quality seeds grow. The most popular vegetable varieties are:

• Vanguard – a compact plant of small height with a dense deciduous part and a strong spicy aroma, can be planted in a house on a windowsill, balcony;

• Caribe is a compact, well-leafed and late-flowering variety, strongly dissected greens with a delicate taste and intense aroma;

• King of the Market – an early ripe variety, characterized by a significant amount of green mass, compact plants with juicy, delicate greens and a strong spicy aroma;

• Borodinsky – mid-season variety, compact, but tall (up to 70 cm) plants, greens have a mild taste, suitable for salads and garnishing dishes, intended for growing in the ground;

• Taiga is a late maturing variety, but resistant to flowering, compact small plants with a dense deciduous part;

• Piknik is an early variety, compact bush with thick serrated leaves, intense aroma and mild taste, can be planted on the windowsill.

To obtain greens and fruits, varieties are suitable, the cultivation of which is carried out only in the ground:

• Amber is a plant with a well-leafed, delicate green part, the seeds have an intense spicy aroma;

• Venus is a lettuce variety with dense delicate greens, the seeds have a mild spicy aroma, are used to flavor marinades, pastries;

• Alekseevsky – mid-season variety, blooms late, resistant to low temperatures, tender, spicy greens, seeds with a high content of esters.

Features of landing

To get a high yield of fragrant greens, cilantro must be planted correctly, taking into account some features:

• the area where the spice is supposed to be planted should be open, sunny, or semi-shaded – it is not recommended to sow spice in the shade of trees, as the bushes grow weak, flower stalks quickly appear;

• it is better to plant plants on a flat area, or on a hill – if the culture is sown in a hollow, the plants will die from excessive moisture even before ripening;

• the soil in which it is planned to plant cilantro should be nutritious and loose, if this is not the case, fertilizers should be applied: humus (0,5 buckets / 1 sq. M.) When digging, or a mineral mixture (20-30 g / 1 m sq.) in early spring;

• crops are sown throughout the entire warm period – many gardeners prefer to sow cilantro in the country several times a season in open ground, so fresh greens are available all summer and autumn;

• before sowing seeds in the ground, the site must be dug up and well moistened;

• you can sow seeds at any time and according to any scheme: scattered, in rows, in holes;

• sowing is carried out with dry seeds: 2-3 seeds are laid at a distance of about 10 cm – if sown thicker, the plants will not grow green mass well, and flower stalks will appear early;

• the rows in which the seeds will be planted should be located at a distance of at least 15 cm – the plants will not darken each other, and this will facilitate the care of the garden;

• cilantro has large seeds with a dense shell, so they are sown shallowly (1,5 -2 cm);

• it is possible to sow seeds in open ground already in mid-April, when the earth warmed up and was saturated with moisture – in order to get several crops per season, sowing seeds is carried out at intervals of 2 weeks.

To grow spices at home on the windowsill, sowing is carried out in early March. In long boxes, seeds can be sown immediately at a distance of 5-6 cm, in pots, or glasses, 2 seedlings should be planted. Planted seeds need to create greenhouse conditions for germination – cover the container with film or glass until the first sprouts appear.

Growing cilantro on a windowsill requires additional lighting. This is especially necessary if planting is carried out in winter, or in early spring, when daylight hours are short. Having provided the plants with all the conditions necessary for growth, the first green crop can be harvested as early as 3 weeks after the sowing was done. If desired, cilantro seedlings grown on the windowsill can be planted in the country in the open field. This method is often practiced by gardeners, as it allows you to grow fresh greens much earlier than is possible if you sow the seeds directly into the soil. In addition, plants grown from seedlings do not require intensive care.

In the cold season, cilantro can be grown not only on the windowsill, but also in greenhouses. It is quite cold-resistant, calmly tolerates frosts. With minimal care and a sufficient amount of light and moisture, you can get fresh greens from the first days of spring.

Video “Practical recommendations on how to plant greens at home”

Informative video with practical tips and recommendations on how to plant greens at home.

Cilantro Care

Caring for the spice does not cause much trouble, however, it must be carried out correctly and regularly. In favorable conditions, seedlings begin to appear in the second week after the sowing of the seeds. During this period, all care, as a rule, consists only in systematic watering. You need to water a week no more than 2 times, at the rate of (4-5 l / 1 sq. M.) This dosage is acceptable for the growing season, when the plants are gaining green mass. During the seed ripening period, watering should be reduced to 2 l / 1 sq. m.

When the plants reach a height of 2-3 cm, they must be thinned out. When pulling out extra shoots, you need to make sure that only the strongest ones remain on the bed, and the distance between them is at least 6 cm. Further plant care involves loosening and removing weeds. If the plants were planted at a normal distance, then weeding and loosening can be done with a tool, if you had to sow randomly, then weeding is done manually. If the spice is grown on a windowsill or in a greenhouse, then caring for it consists only in regular watering and loosening the soil.

How to harvest

The cilantro, like most herbs, is harvested before the plants bloom. The greenery of flowering bushes is bitter and unsuitable for consumption. To prolong the harvesting period, flower heads should be cut regularly as soon as they begin to set. The most spicy green cilantro becomes when the growth of plants stops – this means that the time has come for the final harvest, as then flowering will begin. During this period, the foliage is cut and used for harvesting. It is better to cut greens in the morning.

For storage, cilantro is recommended to dry, forming large bunches, and hanging them in a dry, dark place. Grinding the spice is recommended only after complete drying. Coriander (seeds) are harvested in late summer. The collection must be carried out several times within 1-2 weeks, as they ripen unevenly, and crumble as they ripen. Coriander is dried in the sun – the characteristic spicy aroma emanating from the seeds testifies to the readiness of the spice.

Video “How to grow coriander all year round”

Useful tips for growing coriander.