Cilantro

Cilantro looking healthy and happy in the cooler weather. I planted these in October. The seeds seem to germinate better when they are seeded close to each other. I cover very lightly with soil. Family: Apiaceae, Genus: Coriandrum sativum.

First toadflax bloom

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fortune of the Republic, 1878~

It has been unnaturally colder than normal the last week, with the lows in the mid 30s, F, a lovely visit from the jet stream which normally doesn't traverse our way. I am not used to cold like this. Amazingly, I still have green plants in my garden, and these include fava beans, peas, chard, parsley, potato plants and cilantro.

Not surprisingly, weeds continue to do well despite our cold spell, and right now, the toadflax is just coming up. I keep toadflax around for the dainty Easter egg colored flowers. Family Plantaginaceace, species Linaria. They were originally in the Scrophulariaceae family, which was my first guess. I don't think they do well as a cut flower because they only seem to last a day in the vase, after which the tiny flowers fall off and form a mess both on the table and in the water. Still, I occassionally bring them home for the table, if only for a day.

Parsley, Oregano, Cilantro and Thyme

I gathered a bouquet of fresh herbs from my garden for Thanksgiving. To keep them fresh, I place them in a glass of water in the fridge. I grew the parsley, cilantro and thyme from seed.

Sage grows on the balcony.

Cilantro blooming

Even though it is winter, some of my cilantro has bolted. Funny, what a word. My cilantro hasn't yet galloped away though it has matured.  I love bolted cilantro, so pretty and photogenic. Statuesque and fragile, they sport frilly leaves and dainty flowers, all parts still exuding that familiar fragrance. Though I love cilantro and would easily decimate my population, I deliberately leave a few plants. I like how they provide visual variety, the skyscraper height to contrast with the regular guys down below. The other hope has something to do with collecting seeds, though that has yet to happen. One day.

Family Apiaceae, Coriandrum sativum

Cilantro on my mind

IMG_2290, originally uploaded by luvarugula.

My fail-safe plant, the one I can rely on to germinate and grow, is cilantro, gorgeous and fragrant.

As a garden seeder, I never know what will come up after sowing. Not only that, I know the bazillions of slugs in my garden lie in wait for any new shoot, probably drooling in their sleep each day.

However, cilantro rules. All year.

Sow thick
I sow seeds, thick, every few weeks in microplots, usually in between plants.

Mulch well
I top with an alfalfa mulch, my favorite, and, voila, I see little shoots in a few weeks. Mulching helps retain water as well, essential these Santa Ana days.

Rotate
My rule of thumb: figure out what family your plant belongs to. Your next crop should not be from the same family. Cilantro hails from the Apiaceae family, same as carrots, dill and fennel. I find cilantro is a nice plant to grow after tomatoes (Solanaceae family) and any type of brassicas (from, yup, the Brassicaceae family), such as broccoli, radish and arugula.

I bet I lose a few cilantro shoots to the ravenous hordes of slugs in my garden but I'm now suspecting they prefer other sprouts, such as spinach and lettuce, the ones I never see in my garden.

Family Apiaceae
Coriandrum sativum

Cilantro transforming into coriander

One day, I'll have seeds but when I pass by them, I can still smell the fragrant smell of cilantro.

Family Apiaceae, Coriandrum sativum