What do you do, when you follow the directions on the back of a seed packet and you still can't seem to grow that herb? It's frustrating when you hear of others in your area having great luck growing something, in this case Cilantro, and you can't seem to get a plant even started. If you buy a potted plant, you end up killing it within 2 weeks. What's the deal?

Cilantro is a delightful herb with pretty color, a heady flavor (can you say Nachos?) and it is said to be pretty easy to grow.


Truthfully, there is one large factor left out of that equation. Cilantro likes to keep things cool. 

You can baby it, water it, shade it, trim it, and even talk to it, but your cilantro is not going to like living in hot, humid conditions. There are times in the summer when your days get to be just that: hot and humid, with no end in sight. Even shade won't help, because the ambient temperature is just too high. Those conditions are killers for your cool loving cilantro plant, and it starts the final stage of growing. It throws up a tall stalk with flowers and then goes to seed. It doesn't matter if the plant is a month old, or two weeks, the heat is the key. 

To actually grow cilantro, I suggest making a change in the way that it's been grown traditionally. If you are growing in the ground, plant your cilantro as soon as the ground can be worked. Sleet and cold rain won't slow those seeds one bit from germinating. You will enjoy cilantro as one of your first crops of the year. Then, when the heat hits, cut it back and wait until late summer/early fall and plant it again.

That's right. Plant your cilantro twice each year, taking advantage of the cold weeks before and after your growing season. 

What if I am container gardening?

If you are growing your cilantro in a container (I love this technique and it's the only way I do it now), then take advantage of it and grow a continuous crop of cilantro! Fill a shallow dish with potting soil and water lightly. Overseed your soil with an entire packet of cilantro seeds. Overseeding is when you use more seeds than indicated on the package. You will see that your seeds are planted at a much higher amount than you would ever do in the garden. Gently press the seeds with your hands so that they are all pressed nicely into the soil. Water lightly again and place your dish in a sunny spot. 

The cilantro will soon germinate and grow thickly in your dish. Keep it in a sunny but not too hot place and within a couple of weeks you will have some leaves to harvest. At it's best, the cilantro will sprout and grow very well, needing to be cut with shears for harvest. I like to cut 1/4 of the dish and turn that cut side away from view. Turn the dish 1/4 turn. Then the following week, cut the next 1/4 and so on. by the time you get to the first 1/4,  your cilantro will have regrown to be harvested again. It's a quick and easy way to have one of the tastiest culinary herbs you can grow at your fingertips. And you can easily move it in and out of direct sunlight if the days get too  hot.