Crazy Cilantro

[Gary350]

how do you collect seeds from flowering herbs I tried getting some from my sage it flowered big purple flowers but I didn't find any seeds

Let the plant die and dry out most of the seeds stay attached to the plant. I cut or break the stems off in small pieces and put them in a 5 gallon plastic bucket. Stir them around and some of the seeds fall off. Crumble the plant up with your hand and rub it between your hands the seeds are round balls they roll right off into the bucket. Pull out the stems out and throw then away the seeds are in the bottom of the bucket.

This works good for other plants for collecting seeds.

[Inailum]

how do you collect seeds from flowering herbs I tried getting some from my sage it flowered big purple flowers but I didn't find any seeds

Let the plant die and dry out most of the seeds stay attached to the plant. I cut or break the stems off in small pieces and put them in a 5 gallon plastic bucket. Stir them around and some of the seeds fall off. Crumble the plant up with your hand and rub it between your hands the seeds are round balls they roll right off into the bucket. Pull out the stems out and throw then away the seeds are in the bottom of the bucket.

This works good for other plants for collecting seeds.

Ok so after you get the seeds is it ok to just plant them in a pot and let it grow on the patio? I read that cilantro does better in a pot then in the ground and you should harvest it in sections going clockwise (or counter clockwise, which ever you prefer). This way it will continue to reproduce. Is this true?

[Darth Oblio]

When cilantro bolts it becomes all legs with very few leaves. Whatever leaves are there will taste alright, there just aren't so many all of a sudden. I would let it go to seed. You can collect the seeds for next year or for using in the kitchen as coriander. But it'll self-seed and give you a crop every year from now on.

[jstrausss]

wow that really took off.

[Lisa and Gerry]

I am jealous of all of you - my cilantro dies out quickly - at about 4 inches tall - and it's very hard to buy around here, Europe Zone 8. Any basic tips would be very, very welcome!


Lisa

[RyNJ]

I've got maybe 5 cilantro plants growing currently, and they're flowering, but I haven't noticed any particular change in flavor, and certainly not increased bitterness. I've been cutting back the flowers on some of the plants, but some I'm letting go to seed, gonna TRY to start some seeds to keep growing over the winter. I hope I can pull that off.

The plants (all my herbs, for that matter) are more pungent and flavorful than ANY I've ever gotten in a store, so I'm definitely willing to grow them again.

[Gary350]

Seeds are good for a very long time, several years.

You should plant about 30 to 50 seeds every 2 weeks or sooner. When the plants come up about 8" tall cut them all off that is your whole crop of cilantro from that planting. If you have several plots of 50 seeds each growning you can cut them off and harvest a crop every day.

I have a lot of trouble with growing just 1 plant it always tries to go to seed. It is good to plant a dozen plants just for seeds only.