Cilantro (coriandrum sativa) is a fine choice for a beginner’s herb garden. With the proper conditions, growing cilantro indoors quickly provides gardeners of either the indoor or outdoor variety an abundant herb source. While its origins remain somewhat of a mystery, many botanists believe that cilantro comes from the Middle East to as far down as the Mediterranean.
For growing cilantro indoors, the easiest way to encourage it to grow is to provide a sunny, dry location for planting. This means that you should make sure that there is no other plant or tree in the area that can compete with your herb. The best place to grow it is in a well-drained, soil-based potting soil that contains plenty of drainage. If you’re growing it in a container, there should be some inches of space in the bottom to allow for proper drainage. It’s also advisable to use a water repellent, such as Liquid Plastics, so that your indoor plant receives proper moisture and humidity.
In addition to providing the ideal growing conditions for cilantro, you’ll need to provide it with ample amounts of sunlight and moisture. There are many types of herb plants that require varying amounts of light, such as the mints that grow in the shade. Mint has special leaf colors that coincide with the time of day that they are growing. Planting cilantro plants in containers will provide the ideal growing conditions for microgreens.
Microgreens are taller growing herbs that come in a variety of shades, including white, cream, gold, orange and green. Some varieties are even frost resistant, which makes them perfect for growing cilantro indoors. When harvesting these herbs from the plants, it’s important to trim all the leaves back to make room for the new growth.
Parsley is another herb that is excellent for growing cilantro indoors. The tender leaves of the parsley herb make a lovely aroma as they are harvested. However, it’s difficult to keep the young leaves from turning brown during shipping. To prevent this, you can prune the old foliage to ensure that it doesn’t wilt. You can also harvest the young leaves with wire cutters so that you can reuse them on other cooking herbs.
Like other members of the mint family, coriander is an excellent choice for growing cilantro in a container. To ensure even growth and beautiful leaves, remove any weeds that are growing around the base of the plants. You can easily do this by digging them up with your fingers or a sharp knife. Place them in a shallow pan or pot with at least two thirds of a cup of water. Overwatering will encourage the roots to grow and will give you nice healthy leaves.
Although four weeks is not a long time in between each harvest, it really is enough time for the four weeks to come up. Keep the top growing area shaded during the day to discourage the growth of mold. When the plants have produced at least four sets of leaves, remove them and keep them in an air tight container. If you want to harvest the leaves, just flip them over.
The final step in growing cilantro indoors is watering. Misting the plants a couple times during the day will help keep the soil damp. During the night, it’s also a good idea to mist the plants as well. Too much water or too much soil can cause disease and root rot. Keep these steps in mind and your herbs will reward you with beautiful fresh tasting leaves.
There are many reasons why gardening indoors can be beneficial to you and your family. Not only are you growing healthier herbs, you are saving money that would otherwise go to the store buying more exotic plants. Growing cilantro indoors is also great because you don’t have to worry about the chemicals that are sprayed on fruits and vegetables in order to keep them healthy. Cilantro seeds are also very easy to get started with compared to other popular annual herbs.
The biggest problem that most people have when they try to grow their own herbs is getting the right kind of soil. It can be very difficult to find the right pH levels and nutrient-rich soil in a garden. Most expert gardeners recommend that you either buy a commercial pot or pit the seeds before you plant them in the ground. The advantage to growing the seeds in a pot is that they’re ready to plant right out of the box. Just be sure that you know where the holes for the roots are going before starting to dig the hole.
When it comes to growing cilantro, it’s important that you take the time to learn how to properly care for the herb. Parsley has a strong flavor, so if you don’t mind the strong flavor you should have no problem growing your herb in a small pot. However, if you want to add a little flavor to your meals you can actually mix some dried Rosemary leaves into your potting soil. This mixture will provide your herb with just the right amount of flavor without overpowering it like many herbs can do. You can then just enjoy the wonderful flavor of parsley in your favorite recipes.