My first attempt at growing cilantro did not germinate so easily. That was from packaged seeds. I discovered whole seeds from the spice cabinet worked as well as seeds bought from seed companies.
I wondered, why do two separate plants always grow out of the same spot? Was I carelessly dropping two seeds in each hole?
Each tiny seed ball is two seed hemispheres. They call them germs. Broken in half they become monogerms and they germinate more reliably broken apart this way, that is monogerms planted together germinate as a crop together rather than it taking various lengths of time for water to work its way into individual doublegerms, to get through the outer shell and moisten the two inner germs. Bound together they tend to germinate irregularly, sometimes skipping a season, but when they do, two plants come out. It takes time for moisture to work through the undamaged shell.
I'm thinking of the plants as an arrangement. One that grows. Chiles are growing, and so are tomatoes, twice this height behind what is pictured. New cilantro is coming up beneath this. The random transplants and seed sprinklings went fast, and all from seeds right there in the kitchen. Tomatoes are particularly surprising. The tomatoes marketed as vine tomatoes -- aren't they all? -- still on the vine, are fastest of all three types planted, and all three types are surprisingly fast.
Cilantro is a cool weather plant. Its signal to bolt is when the soil becomes greater than 75℉. That is rather cool for summer. Not a summer plant. Successive plantings recommended.
14 comments:
Most excellent, Chip. I have a difficult time growing cilantro. So I quit trying. The stuff is readily available in large bunches year round. I'll purchase a bunch at the store and place it in water on the counter.
Growing herbs and other plants to form an arrangement? Insanely brilliant. Together we could rule the world. RULE THE WORLD, I TELL YOU!!!
I despise cilantro.
It is the weed of hell itself, full of bile and tortured souls.
Cilantro in Mexican food is good if used sparingly. The one time I visited a Chipotle they went really heavy on the cilantro...in everything. Was it just that particular Chipotle, I wonder.
Tarragon, I dislike. Makes me nauseated. Maybe there was too much in the dish, but I doubt it.
PWha? cilantro is the food angels. Full of love and Smokey goodness. It will save your soul.
Yes bwaahahaaha. Rule!
Caution to earth rulers: when you place a wad of herbs in a vase or glass on the counter, the stems can get funky after a few days. Change water frequently and cut fresh ends as needed.
April Apple, methinks you serve a false messiah.
It's not usually translated right, but it was actually cilantro that Eve ate that caused sin to enter into the world.
“Cilantro and arugula I don’t like at all. They’re both green herbs, they have kind of a dead taste to me.”
That's what Julia Child had to say.
LOL - the tree of cilantro and the fall of man. Yep.
Paddy - You really dislike cilantro.
I love arugula. I know that makes me a snob or something, but I don't care. I like to think of it as a sort of earth-pig lite. & I'm certain Jesus still loves me.
Somewhere I read that cilantro has chemicals that leaves a bad taste in some people's mouths. So, it's polarizing. People love it or hate it and I suspect because we're not tasting the same thing.
And yes, Jesus still loves you. He died even for the cilantro eaters.
Sophie Munns Hommage to the Seed
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