2009-05-31

Life in the Garden Part 18: Zombie Cilantro

I started my garden too early this year. I began planting seeds indoors in early March, and moving plants outdoors in early April. I did my fist big outdoor planting session on 2009-04-04.

I had some sun, which was fine, but it was still dropping into the mid-40s at night. And then we had a windstorm. And a surprising amount of rain. It wasn't like normal Seattle rain, which is really just a perpetual drizzle. It was more of the buckets pouring down variety.

It killed my first batch of basil. It killed some of my bush beans. And it made the other plants pretty miserable. And I was certain it killed my cilantro.

I had grown cilantro from seed and had some seedlings that were 6" tall and starting to put on quite a few leaves.

The wind tore them off. It severed the stem on one. And they did nothing for a while. I was so sure they were dead, I started another batch. I figured it just wasn't hardy enough for a Spring like this.

Then I went on a couple trips. When I checked on the pots, it had come back to life. It sprouted more leaves. I went inside for some water, and in the time I was gone it grew 8".

All my dead cilantro plants sprang back to life and began their hunt for brains. They did not grow legs however, so I'm not too worried. I do wear a hat around them just to be safe.

While much of my garden is doing okay despite my lousy scheduling, the cilantro has just exploded. I'm now seeing stalks .75" thick and trimming it down to minimize bolting.

If you're looking for something easy to grow in Seattle, try cilantro.

I have no idea how I'm going to use all of it. I wonder if i could make it into a pillow...


2009-05-30 Garden (2)

2009-05-30 Garden (5)

5 comments:

Daisy said...

Salsa! Make lots and lots of salsa!

Mrs Sweetwater said...

Easiest thing to do it, wash it and then Freeze the Cilantro, prechopped into icecubes,
to use when you are cooking.

Also you can dry it easily, by cutting it in a bunch, bind the stems and hang upside down on your patio for a few days to dry, then crush the leaves into a spice jar for the best do it yourself cilantro.

also get a small widemouth shallow jar, like a babyfood jar, put some olive oil in and mix in some cilantro to use when cooking. add a lil garlic and some chopped chili's for a great homemade spice melange to brighten up your dish. store this in the fridge.

I highly suggest you share it with your friends and neighbors. and like Daisy says, Make Salsa !!!

Diet Plan said...

U make me happy Keep on sharing ;).

LawReal said...

i like your plants..i love gardening!

Cromely said...

@Daisy: I'll have to give that a try. It's had a wonderfully tangy scent.

@RE Ausetkmt: Make cubes of solid Cilantro, or do I fill the try with water and add the leaves to that? I do something similar with Basil. I like to turn it into pesto and freeze the pesto cubes.

@Diet Plan: I appreciate that.

@Lorille T Dacasin: Thanks. It's a lot of fun. Each winter, though, I seem to forget just ho much work it is.