Eryngium foedum (Apiaceae or carrot family)
Production
Soil preparation
- Cilantro should not follow after other members of the carrot family.
- Late cilantro does well after early lettuce, greens or peas.
- Apply compost and other amendments based on the results of a soil test. Incorporate compost and create raised beds.
- Spread lime as needed to increase both the pH and Ca levels. Dolomite lime will also increase Mg levels. Spread gypsum when calcium levels are low but pH is correct.
- Jang, Sutton Jr. or Planet Jr. planters in combination with small seeds like cilantro don’t perform well with plant matter on the soil surface, so avoid planting them after tall green manures.
- Create a fine and firm seedbed when direct seeding cilantro to facilitate good seed-to-soil contact. When preparing a seedbed a few weeks in advance, shallow cultivation or flame weeding right before seeding will reduce weed pressure.
- Alternatively, place a silage tarp over the prepared and irrigated seedbed 3–5 weeks in advance of the seeding date (depending on the time of year). This will flush many annual weed seeds and reduce weed pressure. Remove the tarp when the weeds have died.
Common recommended fertilizer rates1
| Nitrogen | Phosphorus | Potassium | pH |
| 90 | 0-160 | 0-200 | 6.0-6.4 |
| 1Rates are for New York and are from Cornell University’s Nutrient Guidelines for Commercial Vegetable Production (2019). Check the Cornell website for updated guidelines, or consult with local experts for recommended rates outside New York. | |||
Varieties
Direct seeding information
| Seeder | Rows | Seeds per foot | Seed plate no. | Depth (inches) | Sprocket setting | Notes |
| Planet Jr. | 5 | 50 | 22 | Depth 3 | ||
| MaterMacc | 9 | 12-20 | 24 | 1/2 | 0.7 mph | |
| Jang | 5 | 12-24 | MJ 24 | 1/2 | Front 14/rear 10 |
Transplant tips
- You can also transplant cilantro using a paper-pot planter, which allows you to get optimum spacing and an early start. Start paper pots in the greenhouse. This results in a high germination rate. Use a pot spacing of 2 inches (CP303), which is the closest match but a bit wide for cilantro. Plant when the cilantro has developed its first true leaves. Planting later leads to transplant shock. Don’t bury the plants, but make sure the pots themselves are covered to avoid drying out. Irrigate the first week until roots are established.
Seeding time and number of successions
- Irrigate your field to full capacity before planting, but take care to use a system that doesn’t cause soil crusting. Also, account for any rain in the weather forecast. Soil crusting due to heavy irrigation or rainfall will reduce emergence. Inverted mini sprinklers that water at a low volume can reduce soil crusting. However, it’s also important to ensure that germinating seeds don’t dry out, as this causes desiccation.
- Spread plantings out over several seedings, starting in May and ending by mid-August in the northern United States. Cilantro germinates best when soil temperatures are 55°–68°. Cilantro is considered a cool-season crop and will bolt when temperatures exceed 85°. Avoid summer plantings in regions with hot summers.
Cultivation procedures
- Use a basket weeder or wheel hoe when weeds are in the white thread stage, without burying the young crop. Weed control is more effective when you eliminate weeds before they emerge.
Other cultural practices
- Irrigate frequently for optimum yield and plant health. Frequency depends on soil type, evaporation, precipitation and the particular needs of the crop.
Double cropping and/or cover cropping
- You can plant another short-season vegetable crop like lettuce, spinach, salad mix or arugula after early plantings of cilantro.
- For later dates, work under any harvest remains to avoid insect or pathogen buildup, and plant a cover crop. In the northern United States and Canada, you can follow summer- and early-fall-harvested cilantro with a cover crop of oats and peas in September, or rye and vetch planted at later dates. Adjust accordingly in other regions.
Harvest
| Yield | An average of 0.1 lb. per row foot |
| Standards | Harvesting1 3–4 boxes per person, per hour when harvested as a loose pack, or 60–90 bunches per person, per hour |
| Washing 15 boxes per hour per person | |
| Tools and supplies needed | Harvest knives and plastic 1 ⅓-bushel boxes |
| 1Harvest rates don't include the time required to transport crops from the field to a wash and pack shed or storage facility. | |
Ready-to-harvest and quality indicators
- Plants are 6–8 inches tall and have nice green leaves without any signs of yellowing.
Harvest procedures
- Wash hands and sanitize knives before harvesting.
- Harvest in the morning hours to avoid field heat accumulation.
- Use different boxes in the field than the ones you use for distribution.
- Walk the fields before harvesting to inspect the crop for animal damage or feces. Mark these spots with a flag so the tractor operator or harvest crew can avoid harvesting near them.
- When machine harvested:
- Weed the field thoroughly before harvesting, as people on the machine won’t be able to keep up with sorting at the speed of harvesting.
- During harvesting remove all yellow leaves from the belt before they can fall into the crates. When using a quick cut harvester, you’ll sort after harvesting.
- When hand harvested with a knife:
- Hold a small bunch of leaves at the top of the plant with one hand and cut with one motion with the other hand.
- Shake vigorously to remove any yellow leaves or stems that are from previous cuttings.
- If bunches are made with roots attached, pull the whole plant and form a bunch. This will make washing more time consuming.
- Place bunches in a box with the stems facing the same direction.
Washing and storage procedures
- Wash hands and rinse boots before entering the wash-and-pack shed, and cover up field clothes with a bib. If a long-sleeve shirt contains soil, remove this as well.
- Add a sanitizer to the wash water. Use the guide How to Wash Produce Using a Peracetic Acid Solution to establish how much sanitizer solution to add to water.
- Wash cilantro at least twice. Using a bubbler to agitate the water reduces damage to the leaves.
- Don’t leave greens in the water for longer than 1 minute. Leaves tend to get waterlogged after a few minutes, which causes them to deteriorate faster.
- Dry loose-packed cilantro in a centrifuge. When bunched, shake excess water off the bunches before packing. There are different sizes and models of commercial-grade salad spinners available through restaurant equipment suppliers.
- Pack 24–36 bunches in ½-bushel boxes. The boxes should be sealed or lined with a plastic liner to avoid having the product lose moisture.
Additional resources
Packing and storage summary for cilantro
| Cleaning in the field | Remove dead and yellow leaves. |
| Packing in the field | Pack loosely in plastic 1 ⅓-bushel boxes. |
| Packing for delivery | Use a ½ bushel or 1 ⅑ waxed box for wholesale. See the International Federation for Produce Standards for the correct PLU code. Add the prefix 9 for organic crops. Use a clean box of choice for CSA distribution. |
| Storage | At 32°–41° and 95–100% humidity. Pack in closed containers or bags for storage that’s longer than a day. Cilantro is moderately sensitive to ethylene exposure. |
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.