What is cilantro? In fact, there are a lot of people who confuse cilantro with parsley because these two plants are quite similar in shape. This article will clearly show what cilantro is and how to grow this plant indoors. They know that Cilantro is one of the indispensable foods in many kitchens. Let’s see how to grow cilantro indoors for newbies.
What Is Cilantro?
Cilantro, which is a fragrant cilantro, also known as cilantro. It belongs to the canopy family, native to the countries of Southwest Asia stretching west to Africa.
Cilantro belongs to the annual herbaceous plant, growing up to 50 cm in height. The leaves have a variable shape, slender and widely lobed at the base of the stem. The flowers are white or pale pink growing unopposed to outward-facing petals that look like umbrella plants. Cilantro fruits are spherical, quite small with a diameter of about 3-5mm.
Cilantro has been around for a long time in human life. For example, cilantro seeds were found in the Nahal Hemar cave in Israel and identified as dating back to the Pre-Stone Age.
Benefits Of Cilantro
Most parts of the cilantro plant are used, including:
- Cilantro leaves taste as fragrant as the taste of tangerine peel, which is commonly used in dishes.
- Cilantro seeds are used as a spice. They have a similar taste to orange and slightly spicy often used in some dishes such as: sambar and rasam (in India), sausages (in Germany and South Africa), rye bread (in Russia and Central Europe), some beers (in Belgium) and barbecue (in North American cuisine)
- In addition, cilantro seeds are extracted into essential oils.
- Cilantro root has a stronger flavor than leaves used in many dishes in Asia, especially soups.
Cilantro is not simply a spiced plant, but is also used as a vegetable with healthy uses, such as:
- Assists in lowering blood sugar
- Supports immune strengthening
- Promotes cardiovascular health
- Support and protect brain health
- Supports and promotes digestive health
- Helps fight infection
- Protects skin health
- Supports alertness and improves memory
- Support diabetes treatment
- Treatment of anemia
- Healing associated with bad breath
How to grow cilantro indoors from cuttings?
Can Cilantro Be Grown Indoors?
It is quite possible to grow cilantro indoors because this plant is easy to grow. You only need cuttings, good soil, a potted plant to grow cilantro indoors.
When To Start Growing Cilantro Indoors
You can grow cilantro indoors at any time of the year. As long as you ensure the living conditions for the plant such as moisture, water, light, fertilizer and drainage, then the plant can grow well.
How To Start Growing Cilantro Indoors?
To start growing cilantro indoors, you need to follow these 3 steps:
Step 1: Preparation of tools and soil for planting. First, you need to prepare styrofoam containers, especially with drainage holes. But if you do not have a styrofoam container or want to increase the aesthetics of the garden, you can choose to buy vegetable trays that have been fully designed with drainage holes or wall pots or balconies that are extremely convenient.
For cilantro, you should choose loose soil. It must be rich in nutrients because the plant needs mineral content in the seedling stage. You can supplement your plant’s nutrition by adding treated organic fertilizers.
Place the blended soil in a styrofoam container or planting tray. Pay attention not to be too full, but to be 5-7 cm below the mouth of the container so that after planting it is not spilled out so that it is easier for us to take care of it.
Step 2: seed preparation. Currently, on the market, there are many different types of cilantro. You can choose the seed you like. However, you should buy from reputable stores to get quality seeds with a high germination rate.
Step 3: Proceed to plant cilantro. First, you need watering to create the necessary moisture for the soil. Then cut each row straight in a styrofoam container with a row spacing of 5cm and sprinkle the seeds evenly into the ground.
With this sowing method, you can easily control pests as well as weeds. However, if you want to save even more land area, you should not create trenches but directly plant seeds evenly throughout the surface of the soil.
Then it is recommended to spread a thin layer of soil covering the surface of freshly sown seeds and water. Remember to spread the seeds moderately evenly with hands that are neither too thick nor too sparse.
How To Harvest Cilantro?
Water must be stopped watering 1 week before harvest. The best time to harvest is every early morning. This will help the seeds of the cilantro not to burst.
Cilantro can be harvested after about 1 month from the time of planting. Harvest by cutting individual leaves and stems from the stem. You should cut close to the ground when the stalks are about 10-15 cm high. It is not recommended to cut more than 1/3 of the number of leaves at a time to avoid weakening the plant. After picking the leaves, the plant will continue to grow for at least 2-3 more cycles.
How To Store Fresh Cilantro?
To keep the cilantro fresh for a long time, you should cut down the root and bottom stalk, and then soak it in a bowl of cold water to remove the dirt that remains on the vegetables. After that, you wash the cilantro thoroughly and let it drain or use a paper towel to dry it completely.
You put the cilantro in the freezer bag and squeeze the air out, locking the edge of the bag. Finally, store the bag in the freezer for storage. When eating, do not defrost vegetables, you just need to put them directly in the dish to avoid crushing the vegetables.
How Do You Keep Cilantro Alive Indoors?
To keep Cilantro indoors and grow well, you need to take the following steps.
- Watering: For how to grow cilantro indoors with a styrofoam container, it is necessary to water it 2 times a day in the early morning and late afternoon. When watering, it is necessary to make sure the soil is sufficiently moist but not too wet.
- Weeding: Regularly prune the grass so that they do not compete nutritionally with cilantro.
- After sowing for 7-10 days the plant grows 1-2 leaves, then once every 7-10 days watering manure. Before harvesting 15-20 days, stop watering manure to ensure moisture for plant growth. Note that after watering manure, you must be watered to wash the plants.
- In general, in order for the plant to develop stems indoors with good leaves, you need regular watering them to ensure soil moisture. If the tree grows too thick, it must be trimmed for the rest of the plants to grow. It is necessary to regularly weed the face of the beds and around.
What Is The Trick To Growing Cilantro?
As mentioned, growing and caring for lush cilantro indoors is not difficult but needs to meet important criteria. During care, you must ensure certain criteria. And the tricks to grow cilantro will be:
- Pay attention to the fertilizer element. Choose organic fertilizers to fertilize your plants.
- Pay attention to watering: Plants cannot live well without watering.And the water used to irrigate cilantro must be a source of clean water. Absolutely do not use untreated water sources such as domestic wastewater or industrial wastewater. Such can be toxic to the plant.
- From the beginning of planting cilantro until the plant reaches an average height of 6cm, periodic watering must be carried out 1-2 times per day. The ideal time for irrigation is early in the morning and in the late afternoon. These are times when the weather is mild that is suitable for plants to absorb.
- Do not water too much because the growth characteristic of cilantro is that it cannot live on moist soils.
- Another point to focus on growing cilantro is the plant’s extremely poor waterlogging. Therefore, an effective drainage system must be built.
Will Cilantro Regrow After Cutting?
After cutting, cilantro can completely grow back. As introduced above, the plant can regrow in 2 to 3 more cycles. However, carry out the harvest carefully and ensure the right technique so as not to negatively impact the health of the plant. For example, if you cut too many cilantro leaves, it will weaken the plant and will likely not regrow after that harvest.
You’ve just been introduced to how to grow cilantro indoors. Cilantro can be considered one of the easiest vegetable crops to grow so you can completely grow this plant indoors for your family.
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