Planting Cilantro in Autumn: If These 5 Points Aren't Done Well, It's as Good as Planting Nothing!

As the old saying goes: one autumn rain brings one spell of cold, ten autumn rains and you'll need your cotton coat. This can also apply to crops. Autumn is the main planting season for cilantro, so how should you plant cilantro in the face of changeable weather? The following 5 major points to note must not be overlooked!

1. Choose good land, apply sufficient fertilizer, and prepare the soil finely

Cilantro has a short growing period, a thick taproot, is a shallow-rooted vegetable, and has soft sprouts with poor soil-pushing strength but a strong ability to absorb nutrients. You must choose loam soil that drains well, is fertile and loose, and retains water and fertilizer. Early tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, etc. can be used as the previous crop. Before planting, while plowing, apply 3,000-5,000 kg of well-rotted farmyard manure per 0.1 hectare, harrow finely and level, and make raised beds. Generally the bed width is 1 m, and the bed length depends on the terrain and water source; it should be favorable for planting management, thereby promoting root absorption and healthy, vigorous growth of the plants.

2. Sowing

Cilantro varieties include large-leaf and small-leaf types. The small-leaf type has strong cold resistance and a rich fragrance, and is suitable for eating raw, seasoning, and pickling; it is suitable for autumn planting. The seeds are hemispherical and wrapped in a layer of fruit peel.

Before sowing, the seeds should first be rubbed apart to prevent slow germination and double seedlings, which affect the growth of individual plants. It likes cold and cannot tolerate heat. If sown too early when temperatures are high, it easily bolts and flowers, has more fiber, reduces yield and quality, and loses commercial value. If sown too late, the growing period is short and the yield is low. The suitable sowing period is after mid-August. For drilling, the row spacing is 10-15 cm, with a furrow depth of 5 cm; for broadcasting, the furrow depth is 4 cm. For both drilling and broadcasting, cover with soil 2-3 cm, and use 5-6 kg of seed per 0.1 hectare.

After sowing, tread over it once with your feet, then water to keep the soil moist and facilitate seedling emergence. At the same time, attention should also be paid to the phenomenon that the seedlings cannot push through the soil due to soil crusting before cilantro emerges. Check the seedlings promptly after sowing. If soil crusting is found when the seedlings are emerging, promptly spray water and loosen the soil to help the young sprouts emerge and promote rapid growth.

3. Field management

In order to create a soft and comfortable growing environment for cilantro and living conditions favorable to growth and development, and to achieve management with suitable temperature and moisture, repeated and careful intertillage, soil loosening, and weeding are key.

When the seedlings grow to about 3 cm, thin and finalize the seedlings. Generally, intertillage, soil loosening, and weeding are done 2-3 times throughout the growing period. The first is mostly when the seedlings are pushing through the soil, using a light hand hoe or small rake to lightly break the soil surface and loosen the soil, eliminating the crusted layer. At the same time, pull out the weeds that emerged early, so as to facilitate the emergence and sturdy growth of the seedlings.

The second is carried out when the seedlings are 2-3 cm tall, and for drilling, a small flat hoe can be used to loosen the soil appropriately deeper, combined with pulling out weeds. The third is carried out when the seedlings are 5-7 cm tall. In this way, early intertillage, soil loosening, and weeding can promote vigorous growth of the seedlings. After the leaves close over the ground, whether drilled or broadcast, no more intertillage and soil loosening are done, only targeted weeding several times.

Cilantro is not drought-tolerant, so it must be lightly watered once every 5-7 days, basically watering 5-7 times during the whole plant growing period, always keeping the soil moist. In the mid-growth period, apply 15 kg of urea per 0.1 hectare to ensure good growth.

4. Harvest and storage

Cilantro can be harvested 30 days after sowing at high temperatures, and 40-60 days after sowing at low temperatures. Harvesting can be done by thinning, or all at once.

Besides being eaten in the near term, it can also be stored for consumption in winter and spring. Storage mostly uses the method of burying in soil and freezing. Before eating, take it out and place it in a 0-10 degrees C place to thaw slowly; it can still remain fresh and tender, with no loss of color or flavor.

5. Do well in the “three preventions”

1. Prevent rainwater from causing cilantro heart rot

Although autumn has no major heavy rainfall weather compared with summer, continuous autumn rain is still common. After cilantro emerges, what it fears most is excessive rainwater causing heart rot. Therefore, in autumn, work to prevent rainwater must be done well. In this regard, besides timely hoeing and drainage after rainfall, you can also lightly water it once and spray it once with Xinhgaozhimo. This can effectively prevent cilantro heart rot caused by excessive rainwater, but note that when watering, it is best not to submerge the seedlings.

2. Prevent cilantro bolting

I believe many farmer friends have encountered this: cilantro planted in summer and autumn easily bolts, and since what is eaten is its tender stems and leaves, once it bolts it can no longer be sold. The culprit for why cilantro easily bolts in autumn is long-day sunlight. Therefore, to prevent cilantro bolting, first start with the variety and choose excellent varieties resistant to bolting. Second, strengthen water and fertilizer management during growth, and at the same time spray it once with 800-fold Xinhgaozhimo solution, which can also effectively reduce the probability of cilantro bolting. As for watering, even for cilantro planted in autumn, it is recommended to water lightly throughout the whole growing period, and while watering, lightly apply a seedling-promoting fertilizer, for which urea is recommended.

3. Prevent cilantro red stems

The main cause of cilantro red stems is prolonged exposure to strong light, especially if thinning is done too late during the seedling stage, which will cause cilantro red stems even more severely. Now that the cause of cilantro red stems has been identified, prevention becomes convenient, such as timely thinning, which should be early rather than late, and while thinning each time, you can also spray once with Xinhgaozhimo. Another point is to do a good job of shading measures; you can build some simple shade sheds for cilantro, or cover it with a layer of shade netting.