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You can harvest and grow cilantro fairly easily once you know what this quick-growing herb actually needs from you.
Cilantro is one of those plants that rewards you fast, which is why so many gardeners love growing cilantro in small spaces, pots, and even windowsills.
If you’ve been wondering how to harvest and grow cilantro without watching it bolt overnight, the trick is timing, cool temperatures, and a little patience with your snipping.
The good news is that both growing cilantro and harvesting it are beginner-friendly tasks.
In this post, we’ll walk through how to grow cilantro from seed or transplant, how to harvest cilantro without killing the plant, and how to keep a steady supply coming all season long.
Let’s dig in.
How to Grow Cilantro Successfully
When you grow cilantro, you’re working with a cool-season herb that hates the heat.
That single fact shapes almost every decision you’ll make, from when to plant to where you place it.
1. Start With the Right Timing
The best time to plant cilantro is early spring or early fall.
Cilantro grows best when temperatures stay between 50°F and 70°F.
Once the weather heats up past 85°F, your cilantro plant will bolt, meaning it shoots up a flower stalk and stops producing those tender leaves you actually want.
If you live in a hot climate, growing cilantro in partial shade or in a fall garden works much better than a midsummer planting.
2. Choose Sun, Soil, and Spacing
Cilantro likes full sun to partial shade, with about six hours of light being plenty.
The soil should drain well and be rich in organic matter.
Aim for a pH between 6.2 and 6.8 for the healthiest growth.
When you plant cilantro seeds, sow them about a quarter inch deep and space plants six to eight inches apart.
Cilantro has a long taproot, so it doesn’t transplant well, meaning direct sowing is usually your best bet for growing cilantro.
3. Water and Feed Lightly
Keep the soil consistently moist but never soggy.
Cilantro doesn’t need heavy feeding, so a light dose of balanced fertilizer once or twice during the growing season is plenty.
Too much nitrogen actually pushes leafy growth at the expense of flavor, so go easy on it.
4. Succession Plant Every Few Weeks
Because cilantro bolts so quickly, the smartest way to grow cilantro is to sow new seeds every two to three weeks.
That way, when one batch starts flowering, the next batch is ready for harvesting.
This succession planting trick is the secret to a nonstop cilantro supply.
How to Harvest Cilantro the Right Way
Harvesting cilantro is simple, but how you snip matters for how long the plant keeps producing.
Here’s how to harvest cilantro so it keeps growing instead of giving up.
1. Start When Plants Are Six Inches Tall
You can begin harvesting cilantro once the plant reaches about six inches tall.
At that stage, the outer stems are mature enough to cut without stressing the plant.
If you harvest cilantro too early, you’ll slow its growth, so give it a few weeks first.
2. Snip From the Outside In
The best approach when you harvest cilantro is to take the outermost stems first.
Cut them about one to two inches above the soil line.
This leaves the inner, younger growth untouched so the plant keeps producing new leaves.
Think of it like giving your cilantro a haircut rather than a buzz cut.
3. Never Take More Than a Third
When you harvest cilantro, never remove more than one-third of the plant at once.
Taking too much at one time shocks the plant and can send it straight into bolting.
Stagger your harvesting every week or so for the healthiest results.
4. Use Sharp, Clean Scissors
A clean cut heals faster than a ragged one.
Use sharp scissors or pruning shears and wipe them down between plants.
This small habit keeps disease from spreading when you harvest cilantro regularly.
5. Harvest in the Morning
The best time to harvest cilantro is early in the morning before the heat sets in.
That’s when the leaves are the most hydrated and flavorful.
Rinse them gently, pat dry, and use them right away or store them in the fridge.
6. Let Some Go to Seed on Purpose
If your cilantro bolts, don’t panic.
Those flowers turn into coriander seeds, which are the same spice you buy at the store.
So even a bolting cilantro plant gives you a second harvest, just in a different form.
You can also let a few plants flower to feed pollinators in your garden.
So, How Do You Harvest and Grow Cilantro?
You can harvest and grow cilantro by planting it in cool weather, keeping the soil moist, and snipping the outer stems about one to two inches above the soil line.
Growing cilantro comes down to timing, since this herb hates heat and bolts fast.
Harvesting cilantro correctly means never taking more than a third of the plant at once and starting when it’s about six inches tall.
Plant in succession, harvest in the morning, and let a few plants go to seed for coriander.
Do that, and you’ll have fresh cilantro from spring through fall without much fuss.
Happy growing.