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Cilantro microgreens are baby cilantro plants that you harvest young, once the first little leaves are open, for a strong, fresh cilantro flavor. If you cook with cilantro, this is the microgreen for you, but be warned: cilantro is one of the slowest microgreens to grow. It sprouts slowly and unevenly and usually takes about 3 to 4 weeks, much longer than quick types like radish or broccoli. The round cilantro seed is actually a little dry fruit holding two seeds; some growers crack it into halves or soak it to help it sprout more evenly. You grow it indoors all year on a shallow tray, with no outdoor season or weather to worry about, so it grows the same way no matter where you live, it just takes patience.Cilantro microgreens are the young seedlings of Coriandrum sativum (cilantro, a member of the carrot and parsley family, Apiaceae), grown indoors and cut at the cotyledon to first-true-leaf stage for true, concentrated cilantro flavor. They are the crop for cooks who love cilantro, but they are also one of the slowest and most demanding microgreens: germination is slow and uneven, the blackout runs long, and a typical tray takes about 21 to 28 days, far longer than the 1 to 2 weeks of fast brassicas. The seed is really a small dry fruit that holds two seeds, sown whole or split (cracked) into halves; splitting or a soak can even out the ragged germination. Because there is no frost, season, or hardiness zone involved, the same tray grows identically on a windowsill anywhere, it just asks for patience.
Indoors, every week of the year. Most mixes are ready in 21 to 28 days; start a fresh tray every 2 weeks for a steady supply.
An even, crowded scatter of round tan seed across the whole surface, over evenly damp mix with no standing water.A dense, even layer of coriander seed on moist medium, no bare patches.
A few white roots and pale stems appearing here and there at first, with more following over the next several days. Patchy early germination is completely normal for cilantro.Slow, staggered radicle emergence over several days; early patchiness expected.
A stand of pale, stretched stems slowly filling in and evening out under the cover over a week or more. Still pale, not green.Blanched stems gradually evening the stand under an extended blackout; pre-greening.
Seed leaves turning green over a day or two, standing on slender stems, with the fresh, citrusy smell of cilantro developing.Cotyledons greening; slender stems; first true leaf may form; characteristic cilantro aroma.
Open, narrow, forked green seed leaves about one to two inches tall, tasting brightly of cilantro. A few late sprouts among them are fine.Open forked cotyledons at 1-2 in; full cilantro flavor; minor lag acceptable.
The numbers that matter, at a glance.
You do not need to worry about soil pH for cilantro microgreens. The mixes and mats sold for microgreens are already fine as is.pH is not a practical lever for a single indoor microgreen cycle on a soilless medium; standard seed-starting mixes and coir sit in a workable range and need no adjustment, even over cilantro's longer run.
You do not need to feed cilantro microgreens. The seed carries enough food to reach harvest, and over the long grow adding fertilizer just invites algae and mold.Even though cilantro runs longer than the fast brassicas, it is still harvested at the seedling stage on the seed's own reserves, so no fertilizer is needed for a single cycle. Added nutrients over the long grow mainly raise the risk of algae, off-flavors, and mold.
Your cilantro microgreens are ready when the first little seed-leaves are open and the first true leaf is just showing, usually about 3 to 4 weeks after sowing. Snip them just above the soil with clean scissors and eat them fresh. They do not grow back, so you start a new tray each time.Cut at the cotyledon to first-true-leaf stage, typically 21 to 28 days from sowing, one of the longest waits among microgreens. Snip just above the medium with clean scissors; the stand will not regrow, so the tray is a single cut.
You measure cilantro microgreens by the tray, not by each plant. A full tray gives a modest amount, roughly a few handfuls, and cilantro yields less than most microgreens.Yield is measured per tray, not per plant, and cilantro is one of the lowest-yielding microgreens: a well-sown 1020 tray returns roughly 4 to 8 ounces, less than the fast brassicas, and one Penn State trial recorded under 2 ounces.
Each tray gives one harvest at its best. To keep a steady supply, start new trays on a schedule, spaced out because cilantro is slow.Every tray is a single harvest at peak; continuous supply comes from staggered sowings, not from regrowth, and cilantro's long cycle means wider gaps between trays. There is no waiting period with microgreens. Your very first tray works like the rest; you will just get a feel for how slow cilantro is and how much to sow and water after a few tries.There is no establishment year; the first tray performs the same as any later tray. Expect to dial in seeding rate, patience, and watering over the first few cycles, since cilantro is less forgiving than fast microgreens.
You do not need a special cilantro variety for microgreens. The fancy slow-bolt types sold for the garden do not matter here, since you cut the plants while they are tiny. What helps is the seed itself: regular whole coriander seed sprouts slowly and unevenly, while split (cracked) seed usually comes up faster and more evenly. Just make sure the seed is sold for sprouting or microgreens (not treated garden seed), and be patient, since cilantro is one of the slowest microgreens.For microgreens the garden distinction between slow-bolt cultivars (such as 'Leisure', 'Santo', or 'Calypso') is irrelevant, because you cut at the seedling stage long before bolting matters. What matters is seed form and quality: whole coriander seed is a two-seeded dry fruit that germinates slowly and unevenly, while split (cracked) seed is the fruit broken into single halves and tends to come up faster and more even. Either way, buy untreated seed sold for sprouting or microgreens, use it fresh, and plan for cilantro to be one of the slowest, lowest-yielding types you grow.
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