HOW TO PLANT

Put the soil mix into the jar then lightly water and moisten. Sow seeds in succesion 1.5cm (1/2in) deep, in small pots of compost, lightly covering the seed with a sprinkling of compost on a warm light windowsill all year round.

WHERE TO PLACE

Place in a warm window with a light exposure. Avoid drafty windows or places where temperatures drop considerably at night. As the plants grow, rotate the pots to keep them from leaning in one direction, toward the light. If you are using grow lights, set a timer so that they are on for 14 hours a day. Place the lights a few inches above the seedlings, raising the lights as the plants grow. If the plants look leggy, move the lights closer. If you see white spots on the leaves, the lights are too close. Use scissors to thin crowded seedlings.

WHEN TO WATER

Water once a day to keep the soil moist, but not soaking wet. If the plants start to look crowded as they grow, use scissors to thin them out. 

HARVESTING

You should be harvesting cilantro about once a week. If the plant is growing well, you can harvest more often. Either way, you’ll need to harvest the cilantro at least once a week to help stave off bolting. After harvesting the cilantro, if you aren’t able to cook with it immediately, you can freeze the cuttings until you’re ready to cook with them.

When cutting the cilantro stem, make sure that you are using sharp, clean shears or scissors. Leave a few leaves on the intact stem so that the plant will still be able to generate food for itself. Now that you know how to harvest cilantro, you know that cilantro harvesting is easy and painless. Harvesting cilantro is an excellent way to have fresh herbs for your Mexican and Asian dishes as well as keeping your cilantro plants usable a little longer.