How To Harvest Cilantro: Easy Steps to Accomplish The Task

How to harvest cilantro is relatively easy because cilantro is an easygoing plant with not-so-hard maintenance conditions. Cilantro of the Apiaceae family is most widely used in cooking and for increasing the overall looks of food items.

It is famous in almost all parts of the world, but as a vegetable does not have many nutritional properties. In this article, we will take you through all the important steps leading up to the harvesting of cilantro, so let us get started.

How To Harvest Cilantro With Ease?

To harvest cilantro with ease, as you gather the right tools and sanitize, check the height of the stems, harvest at the right time, and lastly, do not over-harvest. The only thing left to do after that is pruning, and giving it the right care.

Cilantro is a very easy herb to grow as it does not require much work and attention. It may also be dubbed the most beginner-friendly herb or plant.  Harvesting the cilantro plant may be the easiest step in the process. For this, you will only require generic gardening tools to complete the task the right way.

There are a lot of small factors that go into the harvesting of small herbs like cilantro and this is because even though these plants do not require much work, their harvest can be made better by those little steps. Harvesting cilantro is very easy as all you need to do is pluck out the leaves but the important thing to keep in mind here is when you need to pluck them.

1. Gather the Right Tools and Sanitize Them

The first step in harvesting the cilantro for general use is to gather the right tools and supplies and then sanitize it. The process of harvesting is quite simple, but it can be made even simpler. It is best to get the tools you require in one place to easily access them.

The simple tools that you would require for your harvest include protective gear, storage bags, and finally, general gardening tools like a shovel and water hose.

Start by cleaning and sanitizing yourself and the protective gear. You can opt for gloves, eyeglasses, and overalls to keep your clothes clean. Next, go for sanitizing the tools, and as this is just the harvest for cilantro, and only a few tools will be needed, you can make sure to get clean and new storage bags along with a clean shovel.

You can use this starting step for any of your harvests because it is that important and easy to follow. Sanitization is necessary because, without it, there is a chance of plant cross-contamination of algal, fungal, and bacterial infections, so be detailed on this matter. Some of these might also contact human skin and cause havoc, so to avoid that possibility, wear protective gear and sanitize at the start and end of each gardening session.

2. Harvest At the Right Time

The second step is to make sure that you harvest at the right time so that the herbs won’t go through a stressful period. Always remember to check the leaves and the plant before you start plucking the leaves off.

If you start harvesting at the wrong time, the plant may go into shock and stop growing altogether. Likewise, if you wait longer than needed, the leaves of the plant will start to wilt, and you will have sad-looking leaves that will be up to no good.

This is the most important step in increasing the harvest of your cilantro plant, or any other leafy plant for that matter in your vegetable garden. Most of the time, we either harvest a little too early because we cannot wait, or we give it so much that we harvest late.

Either way, we have a cilantro plant that has yet to be harvested in the right way. So while you make up your mind to finally harvest the plant, keep in mind the size of the leaves of the plant.

The bigger the leaf of the cilantro, the better the time is to harvest it. These leaves will also be full of flavor. But how will harvesting them at the right time increase the harvest even if you have harvested the plant that when you harvest them at the right time, the plant will automatically know to grow more leaves in its place. In short, this will keep the plant and its growth healthy.

In the same way, if you harvest the leaves before the right time or after, the plant will either be in shock or will have become dormant because you waited too long. Nevertheless, the plants know how to bounce back, and a simple plant like cilantro will surely come back to life only after a little care.

3. Check the Height of Stems

The next step in the process is checking the height of the stems. The harvesting of the cilantro is very easy as all you need to do is visually see if the leaves are of a good size and that the stem is long enough to have prosperous cultivation and growth at the same time.

Now, you can harvest the cilantro leaves in two ways. In the first way, you will pluck only the leaves off the stems and use them accordingly or store them, but in the second way, you will pluck the smaller stems off, the bigger stems and then use or store the stems plus leaves on them.

This is entirely up to you and your aesthetic on how you like your cilantro. Plucking only the leaves is a good idea for immediate use as you do not need to store them at the time. Plucking the leaves along with their stems might be a good way to go if you want to store them. This is because the stem will keep the leaves fresh for longer.

4. Start To Pluck

The next step that you can take to increase the harvest of the cilantro is to pluck the leaves mindfully. This means that while plucking is the best technique for cilantro plants, you still need to be mindful of which leaves you pluck and from where. For this purpose, start to pluck the leaves from the top of the plant and make your way to its sides. Pluck the leaves that appear in good shape.

Always remember that plucking the leave with its stem is not wise. This will damage the plant and limit new growth. Also, make sure to leave a few good leaves on the plant for next time.

5. Do Not Over-Harvest

You must remember that it is necessary that you do not over-harvest the herbs, and this notion simply means plucking only some of the leaves at a time. This will leave the plant bare, which will alter its health and growth.

Harvest only what you need and how much you need it, and obviously, this notion will change when the harvest is on a larger scale or a bigger setting and for your future or upcoming crops to keep on growing.

6. Give The Right Care

This is another very easy way to increase the harvest of your cilantro plant. Keeping the soil moist will help in making sure that the plant is getting an adequate water supply. This will rejuvenate the plant and help it to grow in a much more potent way. Keep in mind that the way is to keep the soil moist and not wet.

Over-watering the plant can result in a dead plant or a fungus-infected plant, and as you aim to be using a small-holed bottle of water can keep your soil moist. Make sure that you would also use plant food to keep your cilantro plant healthy and increases the harvest, as this will ensure that the cilantro plant is getting the right amount of nutrients despite what is in the soil. Using plant food a couple of times only will help you see the results.

You can increase the harvest of cilantro by first harvesting at the right time and also by making sure that you do not remove more than two-thirds of the cilantro plant leaves. The other ways are by keeping the soil moist and adding plant food.

It will die down at a greater speed if kept in direct sunlight and humid weather because cilantro is a cool-weather herb. The best way to harvest cilantro leaves is by pruning them. So as long as you keep pruning the mature cilantro leaves, the new leaves will grow, giving life to the cilantro plant.

FAQ

– How Long Can You Keep a Cilantro Plant?

You can keep a cilantro plant for a few months at a given time, but this also depends upon the climate that it is kept. This plant is a very short-lived plant as compared to other herbs and shrubs plants.

– What Is the Best Time for Growing Cilantro?

The best time to grow cilantro is in the spring or the cold weather. This is because, in dry summer weather, the cilantro plant loses its water and becomes weak, so if you want to grow cilantro, do it in cold and spring weather.

Conclusion

In this article, we took you through the four easy steps that you can take to harvest healthy cilantro leaves and also what you can do to keep them safe from insects, but if you missed anything, here is a short review:

• You can harvest cilantro to start by gathering and sanitizing the tools, checking the height of the stem, harvesting at the right time, and finally, not over-harvesting the cilantro.
• You can increase the harvest of cilantro by first harvesting at the right time and also by making sure that you do not remove more than two-thirds of the cilantro plant leaves.
• Pruning cilantro leaves is the best way to harvest the plant.
• If you want to grow herbs in warm weather, try growing them indoors where the weather may be cooler.
• Cilantro plant prefers shade and cool places to direct sunlight and dry places.

Here we come to the end of the article about harvesting cilantro, so we hope this article was a fun read for you and that you can now grow healthy cilantro for yourself with the right plant care.