How Many Times a Year Can You Plant Cilantro? A Detailed Guide to Its Growth Cycle and Per-Mu Returns

Cilantro, also known as coriander, is a fairly common vegetable on Chinese dining tables. Because its tender stems and fresh leaves have a special aroma, it is widely used as a seasoning to enhance flavor. So how many times a year can cilantro be planted? How long is its growth cycle? Roughly how much money can you make growing one mu?

How many times can it be planted in a year?

Under normal circumstances, the same plot of land can be planted with at most three crops in a year.

How long is the growth cycle?

In high temperatures, cilantro can be harvested 30 days after sowing, while in low temperatures it can be harvested 40-60 days after sowing. Harvesting can be done by thinning, or all at once. In autumn cultivation, besides being eaten soon after, it can also be stored for eating in winter and spring. Storage mostly uses the method of burying in soil and freezing. Before eating, take it out and place it somewhere at 0-10°C to thaw slowly; it can still remain fresh and tender, with no loss of color or flavor.

Roughly how much money can you make growing one mu?

Cilantro comes to market from November to March, when the price is basically stable at 2-4 yuan per jin. In the hot summer, however, there is little cilantro on the market, and the wholesale price can reach 6-7 yuan per jin, and at its highest it can sell for 10 yuan per jin. If sown in early April each year and harvested in late May, after a period of stocking, it will then come into mass market from June to October. If you catch a good season, the income is quite considerable.

If you have more than 30 mu of land, and each mu of cilantro can yield 1000 jin, with an average price of 6 yuan, then after deducting costs, you can make more than 100,000 yuan a year.

Also included: how to grow cilantro in pots:

1. Sowing

Take the seeds you bought and rub them apart with your hands, because cilantro seeds are round and wrapped in a hard shell; if you do not rub them apart, they sprout rather slowly. You can also leave them unseparated and let them sprout slowly. The seeds can simply be bought online on Taobao; usually the seeds sent are quite numerous, and the ones that sprout will be enough to eat.

2. Soil

It is best to choose leaf mold; you can mix coal cinders and dead pine needles into the soil and put them together in the pot. Water the pot soil thoroughly. Cilantro seeds like soil with relatively high moisture, so you must water thoroughly.

3. Sowing

Spread the seeds evenly in the pot, then scatter a layer of fine soil on top. Do not make them too dense; if too dense, the seedlings that grow later will be too thin and will not grow thick and sturdy. They also should not be too sparse, and a certain germination rate must be ensured. Make it slightly denser; after the seedlings emerge, you can thin them out and eat the dense ones first.

4. Emergence of seedlings

Before the seeds sprout, just place them in a cool, shady spot. If the pot soil dries out, sprinkle a little water, but do not sprinkle too much. Do not apply fertilizer either. In about one or two weeks you will see fine sprouts; after they sprout, you can move them into the sun to get some sun every day.