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Cilantro Microgreens

Coriandrum sativum
Also known as: Coriander, Chinese Parsley, Mexican Parsley, Dhania

Cilantro Microgreens is a microgreen in the Apiaceae family. It grows well indoors with medium moisture, and is listed for USDA zones 2-13. Plants reach harvest about 10–28 days after planting and sit about 3 inches apart.

Varieties

4 from True Leaf Market, Seeds Now & High Mowing · sorted by days to maturity
  • Leisure Splits10–20 days

    Heirloom; Organic; Non-GMO

    10-20 days. Cilantro microgreens seed is actually a dried ripe fruit. This split seed has had the individual seeds separated from the multi-seed pods in which they grow naturally. Sometimes called 'monogerm cilantro', these seeds are better for precise seeding than the version still in the pod. Ideal for microgreens. Clean and deliciously fragrant.

    View on True Leaf Market
  • Cilantro/Coriander Splits14–25 days

    Grows well with containers; Grows well with raised beds; Matures in <90 days; Start indoors; Super easy to grow

    We offer the highest quality cilantro micro green sprout seeds! These sprouts are a great ingredient to add to any dish for added flavor and nutrition. Sure to be your new favorite! Very easy to grow. Ready to consume after just a couple of days.

    View on Seeds Now
  • Cilantro16–25 days

    Microgreen

    Aromatic, light green leaves and white stems

    View on High Mowing
  • Slow Bolt21–28 days

    Heirloom; Organic; Non-GMO

    21-28 days. This slow-bolting strain is grown primarily for its broad, deep green, celery-like, pungent foliage. As a microgreen, these seeds take time but are well worth it, not only for the strong cilantro flavor but for the sweet aroma the greens emit.

    View on True Leaf Market
Family
Apiaceae
Category
Microgreen
Form
Microgreen
Lifecycle
annual
Zone
2-13
Height
0.08333333333333333–2 ft
Spread
0.08333333333333333–0.6666666666666666 ft
Sun
Indoors

Plant spacing

16 plants per square footSquare-foot planting diagram: a 1-foot square divided into a 4-by-4 grid holding 16 cilantro microgreens plants spaced 3 inches apart.
16 plants per square foot

In a square-foot bed, space cilantro microgreens about 3 in apart — that fits 16 plants in each 1-foot square (4×4). Wider rows or containers space the same.

Water
Medium

Plan your cilantro microgreens planting

Add cilantro microgreens to a free GardenDraft plan and get sow, transplant, and harvest dates computed for your ZIP code — with a drag-and-drop bed layout and reminders when it’s time to plant.

Start your free plan →

At a glance

Days to harvest
10–28 days
From transplant or sow to first harvest
Harvest style
Keep picking
Crops over several weeks
After harvest
Use right away
Quality drops fast past peak
Frost tolerance
Semi-hardy · to ~24°F
Lowest temperature the foliage usually survives
Succession
Re-sow every 14 days
Sow again at this interval for a continuous harvest

Storing & preserving

Best used right away — quality drops fast. Use fresh — refrigerate briefly; not suited to preserving.

General home-preservation guidance — for tested processing times and safety, follow the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Growing timeline

When to plant and harvest cilantro microgreensPlanting timeline for cilantro microgreens, relative to last frost: grow from 3 weeks before last frost to 2 weeks before last frost; harvest from 2 weeks before last frost to 1 week after last frost.GrowHarvestLast frostDirect sow
Direct-sow cilantro microgreens 3 weeks before last frost; first harvest 2 weeks before last frost.
Outdoor planting
-21 to -7 days vs frost
Propagation
Seed
Schedule anchor
Last Frost

Companion planting — with cited sources

From US/Canada cooperative-extension publications and peer-reviewed studies. Evidence-tier dots show how strongly each recommendation is backed: ●●● peer-reviewed mechanism · ●● extension consensus · traditional knowledge with a plausible mechanism.

Pairs well with (3)

  • Common CabbageEvidence tier C: Traditional practice with plausible mechanism but limited empirical replicationpredator-attract, pollinator-attract

    Flowering cilantro is one of the most consistently cited insectary plants in US extension materials: its small white umbels supply accessible nectar for syrphid flies, green lacewings (Chrysoperla spp.), and small parasitoid wasps including Diadegma and Cotesia that attack imported cabbageworm, diamondback moth, and cabbage aphid.

    Timing: Allow some plants to bolt; flowering coincides with mid-summer brassica pest peaks.

    Source: S1, S5, UMass Center for Agriculture

  • Common SpinachEvidence tier C: Traditional practice with plausible mechanism but limited empirical replicationpredator-attract

    Cilantro umbels attract syrphid adults whose larvae predate spinach aphids; both crops share cool-season culture making the pairing practical.

    Source: S1, S5

  • Common TomatoEvidence tier C: Traditional practice with plausible mechanism but limited empirical replicationpredator-attract, pollinator-attract

    Flowering cilantro is documented to elevate natural-enemy abundance (syrphids, lacewings, parasitoids) in tomato beds, contributing to aphid and hornworm suppression.

    Source: S1, S5

Avoid planting near (1)

  • CarrotEvidence tier C: Traditional practice with plausible mechanism but limited empirical replicationalternate-host-pest

    Apiaceae cross-host: shares carrot rust fly and Alternaria with carrot. Extension references advise separating cilantro and carrot beds and not rotating one into the other within 3 years.

    Source: University of Maryland Extension

Sources cited

S1
Cornell University Cooperative Extension — vegetable production guides
S15
UMass Center for Agriculture (UMass Extension)
S5
Michigan State University Extension
S9
University of Maryland Extension — Home & Garden Info Center

Care & troubleshooting— extension-sourced, with citations

When to feed, prune & water

Attract beneficial insects and protect pollinators

Protection
  • Routine carePlant insectary flowers and tolerate light pestsstrong evidence — extension confidence

    Grow a diversity of flowering plants (including small-flowered umbels and asters) to feed predators and parasitoids, and tolerate low pest numbers so natural enemies have prey to stick around.

    Source: UC IPM; UMN Extension

  • Routine careNever spray open bloomsstrong evidence — extension confidence

    Avoid insecticides on flowering plants and apply any needed sprays in the evening when pollinators aren't active, and favor selective products over broad-spectrum ones to spare bees and beneficials.

    Source: UC IPM

Mulch to suppress weeds and retain moisture

Mulch
  • Routine careApply organic mulch around plantsstrong evidence — extension confidence

    Spread a few inches of straw, shredded leaves, or compost around established plants (keeping it off stems) to hold soil moisture, suppress weeds, and moderate soil temperature; wait until soil has warmed for heat-loving crops.

    Source: UMN Extension; Missouri Botanical Garden

Plan crop rotation

Rotation
  • Routine careRotate plant families between bedsstrong evidence — extension confidence

    Avoid planting the same family in the same bed in consecutive years (aim for a 3+ year gap), grouping crops by family so soilborne diseases and pests that build up don't carry over to the next susceptible crop.

    Source: UMN Extension; Cornell

  • Routine careSequence for soil healthmoderate evidence — extension confidence

    Follow heavy feeders like tomatoes and brassicas with legumes or a cover crop to support soil fertility and structure, and keep simple notes each year so you can track where each family grew.

    Source: UMN Extension

Thin crowded seedlings to final spacing

Thinning
  • Routine careThin to ~2 in spacing, then again later· every 3 wks · ~3 wksstrong evidence — extension confidence

    Crowded carrots stay small and forked. Thin to about 1 in when seedlings are 2-3 in tall, then to 2-3 in a few weeks later. Snip rather than pull to avoid disturbing neighbors.

    Source: UMN Extension

Clean up debris and sanitize at season end

Sanitation

Unusual this time of year.

  • Routine careRemove spent plants and fallen debrisstrong evidence — extension confidence

    Pull and clear old plants, dropped fruit, and leaf litter at season end, since many pests and diseases overwinter in this debris; dispose of diseased material rather than composting it.

    Source: UMN Extension; Cornell

  • Routine careClean tools, stakes, and cagesmoderate evidence — extension confidence

    Wash and sanitize stakes, cages, and tools that touched diseased plants before storing or reusing them to avoid carrying pathogens into next season.

    Source: Cornell; UMN Extension

Something looks wrong?

Describe what you see on your cilantro microgreensand we'll rank the likely causes — most likely first, least-invasive fix first.

Bacterial soft rot

Diseasesevere

Symptoms: mushy water-soaked decay of fleshy tissue; slimy soft rot of heads, bulbs, roots, or fruit; foul odor from rotting tissue; rapid collapse after wounding or in warm wet conditions; rot spreading in storage

  • CulturalRemove rotting plants and produce (manage, not cure)strong evidence — extension confidence

    Soft rot can't be cured once tissue breaks down; promptly remove and discard affected plants and produce so the bacteria don't spread to neighbors or other stored vegetables.

    Source: Cornell NYS IPM

  • CulturalAvoid wounds and excess moisturestrong evidence — extension confidence

    Harvest in dry conditions, handle gently to avoid bruising, control insects that create entry wounds, and improve drainage; cure and store bulbs and roots cool and dry.

    Source: Cornell NYS IPM

  • CulturalDon't overwater and rotatemoderate evidence — extension confidence

    Avoid waterlogged soil and overhead watering that splashes bacteria, and rotate away from previously affected fleshy crops to lower disease pressure.

    Source: Cornell NYS IPM

Southern blight

Diseasesevere

Symptoms: sudden wilting in hot weather; yellowing then collapse of whole plant; white fan-like mold mat at the stem base and soil; tan-brown mustard-seed-sized sclerotia near soil line; girdled rotted lower stem

  • CulturalRemove infected plants and surrounding soil (manage, not cure)strong evidence — extension confidence

    Once a plant collapses it can't be cured; dig out the plant plus the top few inches of nearby soil containing sclerotia and dispose of it, avoiding spread on tools.

    Source: Clemson Land-Grant Press; UC IPM

  • CulturalBury residue and rotatemoderate evidence — extension confidence

    Deep-turn soil to bury sclerotia, remove crop debris at season end, and rotate susceptible solanaceous and legume crops with grasses for several seasons.

    Source: Clemson Land-Grant Press

  • CulturalAdjust soil pH and plant earlymoderate evidence — extension confidence

    Maintain soil pH at the level recommended for the crop, since the disease is worse in low-pH soils, and time plantings so harvest begins before peak summer heat favors the fungus.

    Source: Clemson Land-Grant Press

White mold (Sclerotinia stem rot)

Diseasesevere

Symptoms: water-soaked stem or branch lesions; fluffy white cottony mold on stems and pods; sudden wilting of part of a plant; hard black sclerotia inside or on stems; collapse during cool wet bloom periods

  • CulturalRemove infected plants (manage, not cure)strong evidence — extension confidence

    There's no cure for an infected plant; cut out and bag affected plants including the black sclerotia, and don't compost them, since sclerotia survive years in soil.

    Source: UMN Extension; UC IPM

  • CulturalOpen the canopy and rotatestrong evidence — extension confidence

    Space plants widely, control weeds, orient rows to prevailing wind, and avoid overhead watering at bloom to dry the canopy; rotate to non-host crops (corn or other grasses) for several years.

    Source: UMN Extension; UC IPM

  • CulturalWater at the base, not overheadmoderate evidence — extension confidence

    Use drip or soaker irrigation to keep foliage and the soil surface drier, which discourages the sclerotia germination and mycelial growth that drive white mold.

    Source: UC IPM

Carrot rust fly

Pestmoderate

Symptoms: rusty brown tunnels through carrot roots; stunted reddish foliage

  • CulturalRow cover + delay sowingstrong evidence — extension confidence

    Cover the bed with insect netting from sowing, and avoid the spring egg-laying peak by sowing a little later. Crop rotation helps.

    Source: UMN Extension

Root rot from overwatering / poor drainage

Diseasemoderate

Symptoms: stunted yellowing plants that wilt despite wet soil; soft brown mushy roots; sloughing root outer layer leaving thread-like core; poor growth in low or compacted wet spots; seedlings collapsing at the soil line

Tarnished plant bug / lygus

Pestmoderate

Symptoms: deformed or puckered new growth; pitted or scarred stems and leaves; aborted or misshapen buds and fruit; catfaced or dimpled strawberries; small bronze-green bugs with triangular back marking

  • CulturalManage surrounding weedsstrong evidence — extension confidence

    Keep broadleaf weeds mowed or removed around the garden, since lygus build up on flowering weeds and move to crops as those weeds dry down; avoid mowing large weedy areas right beside fruiting crops at bloom.

    Source: UC IPM

  • CulturalVacuum or shake plants to monitor and reduce· every 5 daysmoderate evidence — extension confidence

    Tap plants over a light-colored tray to check for nymphs; a handheld vacuum used once or twice weekly can hold low to moderate numbers down on small plantings.

    Source: UC IPM

  • OrganicTreat nymphs if damage is building· every 1 wkmoderate evidence — extension confidence

    For active nymph infestations, azadirachtin or a Beauveria bassiana product can give some control per the label; preserve the parasitic wasps and other natural enemies that help suppress lygus.

    Always follow the product label — it is the law.

    Source: UC IPM

Aphids

Pestlow

Symptoms: clusters of tiny soft-bodied insects on new growth and undersides; sticky honeydew or sooty mold; curled distorted new leaves; ants tending them

  • CulturalBlast off with water· every 3 days · ~2 wksstrong evidence — extension confidence

    Knock colonies off with a strong jet of water in the morning; repeat every few days. Light infestations rarely need more.

    Source: UC IPM: Aphids

  • OrganicInsecticidal soap - label use only· every 1 wk · ~3 wksmoderate evidence — extension confidence

    For persistent colonies apply insecticidal soap to undersides per label. Avoid open flowers.

    Always follow the product label — it is the law.

    Source: UC IPM