How One Packet Became a Patch: A Short Homestead Story About Cilantro

Cilantro.

From my experience, you either love it or you hate it. Our homestead loves it for a multitude of reasons: it grows well in the right season for our North Georgia climate, self-sows readily, produces seeds abundantly, and tastes delicious. Why wouldn’t you want to grow cilantro on your homestead?

But don’t dream small, homesteader—I want to entice you to dream big. Cover-crop big… with cilantro.

Cilantro was one of the first plants I started successfully growing as a first-time mom. I had just visited the public library, perused their free seed library, and brought a packet of seeds home. Little did I know that those few plants would eventually turn into something grand—covering a multitude of my beds, feeding my family, feeding pollinators, and even helping repel garden pests.

You see, I did the opposite of what I thought was right.

I knew cilantro was fantastic in fresh salsa and a must for street-style tacos, so I assumed it must be grown in the summer. But I was impatient and wanted to plant a fall garden—right then, right there—when I pulled into the driveway after arriving home from the library back in 2018.

So I did.

It was toward the end of September, and you know what? That cilantro grew and grew. We ate on it for many weeks, and I found that in my North Georgia yard, it really liked growing through the cooler months. It eventually flowered beautifully and went to seed—making delicious coriander. And whatever I didn’t collect dropped to the ground.

Well, come spring and the next fall, we had tons of baby cilantro plants. I just let them do their thing, and now we have an abundance of cilantro.

I still let seeds drop as they please, but I also gather and store them away—and sow them in the fall as a cover crop for early spring planting. Cilantro suppresses other weeds well, draws in some of the first pollinators in spring, and gives me something fresh to serve on our plates.

We love enjoying ours in lacto-fermented salsa (a recipe from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook), on tacos, on eggs, in curries, and even as a salad! It’s a versatile and abundant food for us on our homestead.

One of our most unique (and favorite) dishes to include cilantro is carrot noodle curry. We cook our curry of choice as usual, but instead of serving it over rice, we peel strips of carrots, blanch them, and serve the curry right over top. The sweetness of the carrots combined with the spiciness of the curry and cool cilantro is a satisfying dish that is sure to please all at your table.

But a simple taco soup with homemade tortilla strips (also from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook) is hard to beat—with fresh cilantro on top!

From that one little packet of seeds, our home has been blessed.

You never know how a plant will change you in your garden. It may become a new favorite—one that plants itself year after year. By trying a new plant variety you have the opportunity to grow as a gardener, learning how to best care for and cultivate that species, and it may give back to your land in ways you didn’t expect.

Gardening—even just one plant—can open you and your homestead to new opportunities for growth and delectable dishes.

With that said, happy planting and gardening season!

Sincerely,

Ali Nelson