Send your friends secret messages, encourage them to start a garden or bring a smile to a plant nerd; by sending them a "Seed Gram". Hand processed organic seeds packaged inside a cute greeting cards made by Canadian artists. Package includes an art card " Hanging Baskets" by Lynne Camichael, your personal message & heirloom cilantro seeds the were hand grown, harvested & packaged on Vancouver Island by Heart Seeds staff & students to raise funds to acquire a permanent site for our programming.
 
Taxes are included in the price.
 
Cilantro is easy to grow in a minimum size of a 1-liter pot but can be grown in a larger bed with a bit of shade. It is a great first plant for new gardeners as it produces quickly and is low maintenance. Plus it swells amazing and stores wonderfully.
 
Cilantro is an annual member of the carrot family that has been grown for thousands of years. It is popular in South American, Mexican, Asian, and Mediterranean dishes. The leaves are used as seasonings in salsas, guacamole, grain salads. The seed of the plant is called coriander. Unripened, it has a citrus flavor and can be used like fennel as a breath freshener, or as a flavoring for fish dishes. The ripened coriander is milder and is used in pickles, curries, bakery, sorbet, etc. The root is also added to curries and the stems to bean or nettle dishes. The oil from the seed is used in perfumes, toothpastes, liquors and massage oils.
 
Gardening tip for growing Cilantro - Cilantro is a good companion plant, but should not be grown near fennel. Also, growing cilantro can help attract beneficial insects to your garden, and repel harmful ones.
 
Coriander is considered to be an antispasmodic, carminative and a mild sedative. It can aid digestion, eases migraines, and reduces flatulence.
 
Climate & Growing Conditions
Growing Cilantro is best in full or part-sun, in well-drained neutral pH soil. It's fairly tall (18-24") so plant cilantro where it won't shade sun-loving plant. 
 
Preparing the Garden Soil
Dig the garden bed deeply with compost, before growing cilantro. Also, test the soil pH. It should be neutral (6.5-7.5) for growing cilantro. 
 
Planting
In the spring, right around when you expect the final spring frost, plant cilantro seed directly in the garden soil. Cover lightly with soil. Wet the soil (misting is best, to keep from displacing the seeds), and keep the soil moist (not soggy). In 7-10 days, you should see the cilantro seedlings emerge. Thin to 10" apart.
Because Cilantro has such a short season before it goes to seed, most gardeners make successive plantings when growing cilantro. Plant additional cilantro crops 2 to 3 weeks apart, throughout the growing season.
 
Watering
Water cilantro regularly, keeping the soil moist (not soggy)
 
Fertilizing
If you applied a dose of well-rotted organic matter or compost when preparing the bed, no additional fertilizer should be needed. Otherwise, you can fertilize cilantro with a liquid fertilizer (compost tea, fish emulsion, etc.) when the plants are just getting established, but don't continue fertilizing into the season.
 
Harvesting
Cilantro leaves: leaves - The newer (broader) leaves have a better flavor than the more mature feathery cilantro leaves. Use thinnings as plants fill in, and pick the leaves as needed.
Cilantro leaves don't store well. They'll keep for a week or so in the fridge. However, attempts to freeze or dehydrate cilantro will be disappointing, as the flavor significantly weakens.

Dried cilantro seeds (coriander) - Grow your own!
Coriander seeds: Harvest seeds before they turn brown. Harvest by cutting the entire stem from the plant. Place the stem upside-down in a brown bag. Close the top of the bag loosely & set aside in a well-ventilated room. When dry, the seeds will release easily from the stem. Store in an airtight container to preserve flavor.
 
Storage
Unfortunately, there's no real way to preserve cilantro leaves for storage without losing a significant portion of their flavor (aside from storing in your home-canned foods).