Cilantro is a love it or hate it herb. For those who don’t have the gene that makes it taste awful it can be a lovely addition to many savory dishes that brighten them up with a fresh taste. For those who do have the gene cilantro ends up tasting like soap and is so strong that even a single fleck of it can ruin a whole dish. In either case, love it or hate it, the plant can also be grown for its seeds which are known better as coriander.
Cilantro Details:
- Family: Apiaceae
- Growing Season: From spring to early summer
- Growing Zones: 3 through 10
- Spacing: 10-14 inches (25-35 cm) apart
- Seed to Harvest time: 60 to 90 days
- Indoor Starting: Start in cell trays 6 to 8 weeks before danger of last frost
- Earliest Planting: After danger of last frost
- Watering: Water when soil is dry, keeping soil moist, but never wet. Do not over water. Requires roughly 1 inch of water a week. Cilantro wilts easily, so never leave the soil dry to the touch.
- Sunlight Requirements: Full sun
- Planting: Plant seeds 1/4 inch deep. Plant continually every 3 weeks if continual harvesting is desired.
- Weeding: Weed regularly. Cilantro are fairly tolerant of weeds, but should be kept up with regardless.
- Harvesting: Harvest cilantro with garden snips 2 inches above the base of the plant as needed. If harvesting the seeds (coriander) let the plant grow until the leaves start to turn brown, then clip the stalks with seed heads several inches below the seeds. Hang seed heads upside down in bunches to dry. When the seeds are right they will fall from the seed heads on their own, so hang seed heads above a collection vessel.
- Known issues: Cilantro wilts easily when it is too dry, be sure to keep the soil moist, but not over watered.
More About Cilantro
Cilantro is divisive as a garden herb because of its ability to ruin food for people who have a gene that makes it taste awful. It is so bad that people who can’t taste it usually don’t believe the people who can are telling the truth when they describe it. And it’s not something you can just “pick out.”
On the other hand people who love it tend to really love it and describe the taste as refreshing. None of the writers here at GetHomesteading are lucky enough to enjoy cilantro, so we really have limited ability to talk about the joys of eating it for people who like it.
As for the seeds, also known as coriander, they are not often as bad as the leaves and have less of the offending compound, so people who cannot tolerate cilantro can still enjoy coriander, though it may taste different to you if you have the cilantro gene.
Cilantro Tasting and Food Notes
We’ve already covered the ways in which cilantro can taste bad for some people, but if that’s not a problem for you cilantro is apparently wonderful when used with savory dishes and most general Mexican cuisine. Some people also use cilantro in drinks and rarely with sweets, but mostly it is used as a flavoring agent for protein heavy dishes.
Coriander seeds have a nutty citrus like flavor and can easily be developed into more rich and interesting taste components in both sweet and savory dishes. Coriander seeds express more flavor when toasted or cooked into other dishes, so they can really pack a punch. On the sweet side they are great as a spice mix for cakes and cookies. On the savory side they find a place in both Thai and Indian curries as well a variety of vegetable soups.
While we can’t personally enjoy everything the cilantro plant has to offer, we always appreciate an herb that can pull double duty and provide both leaves and seeds for cooking.
Should I Grow Cilantro In My Garden?
This is another very personal question. If you like cilantro it’s an easy plant to add as it takes little maintenance and has few predators or diseases. On the downside it takes up a fair amount of space if you want to grow a lot of it and you have to choose if you want the leaves or seeds as you usually can’t get a high quantity of both from one plant. While the plant has few pests or diseases it is prone to wilting easily if over or under watered, so you need to keep an eye on it an adjust accordingly. Cilantro, even if you aren’t eating it, is known to repel potato beetles, aphids, and spider mites, so it can also be grown simply as a garden border to protect other plants.