Cruiser Cilanto
Coriandrum sativum
A tidy, upright variety with excellent bolt resistance. Are you unfortunate enough to not enjoy cilantro? Grow it for the coriander seeds instead.
JOY MAX SCALE ✦✦✦✦✧
✦ Super easy to direct sow from seed
✦ An especially sturdy, bushy variety with glossy, green leaves- a super handsome cilantro
✦ Cilantro is a bolter. It will bolt as soon as it gets warm. Seeds will form at that point though, a whole new crop!
✦ Cilantro is a good interplanting crop. You can tuck it into spaces where the shade from other crops will let it escape the sun to prolong its season.
✧ Cilantro is a surprisingly heavy feeder. Every 4-5 harvests or so, fertilize with seaweed water to keep it thriving.
Basic Growing Information
Direct seed (recommended) Sow 1/4- 1/2” deep, 1/4- 1/2” apart. For leaf harvest, there is no need to thin, as cilantro continues to grow well even when sown thickly. For coriander seed production, thin to stand 2-4” apart. Successive sowings can be done every 2-3 weeks for continual harvest of leaves.
Tips for Growing Cilantro
• Make sure you keep soil moist until seeds germinate.
• Cilantro is harvestable at every stage. Leaves may be harvested once the plants have become established and before flowering begins. The immature seeds are sweet and fresh and can be harvested after they form on the flowers, until they become brown and dry. Mature seeds are produced about 3 months after planting and are harvested when dry on the plant (coriander).
• You can cut the whole plant back to harvest, but it’s better just to take what you need to let the herb recover.
Companion Planting
Because it is a hungry plant, plant near nitrogen fixing crops or flowers like peas, beans, or bluebonnets. It is said to repel potato beetles. Avoid planting it near other herbs, especially fennel and woody ones like thyme and rosemary
Seed Saving
If the seeds are starting to brown and you are tired of looking at the spent plants, you can harvest the whole plant and hang it upside down to dry and then collect the seeds. Or you can wait until they are brown and dried on the plant, and collect them easily to save for later, or just toss them in areas you won’t mind if they come back. If you want to use them in cooking, keep them in a jar for up to 2 years.