I live in Ridgefield, Connecticut (USDA hardiness zone 6a), and would like to grow cilantro. The local grocery stores sells it in larges bunches for $4, but I only need a little at a time. I'm happy to grow it inside or outside.
How do I grow it successfully?
I am in shock over $4 bunches of cilantro. Here is is very cheap like parsely - under a $1 a bunch at my grocery - but I still like to grow it at home, because I can rarely use the whole bunch while it is fresh.
The trick to growing cilantro at home is to do succession sowing and frequent cutting. As itsmatt mentioned, it bolts quickly in warm weather. I seed a new patch of cilantro every 2 weeks, and start using it once the plants are 4 inches tall or so. In the summer, it works best if you can plant it in a spot with a little shade (I've had good luck with a spot where it gets morning sun but afternoon shade). You could also grow it under shade cloth if you don't have a shady spot for it.
Good luck!
I think the word will be "successfully" since you've got a bit cooler climate. :)
Cilantro bolts when it warms up. Definitely likes the cooler weather. I learned this the hard way two years ago. We had what seemed like two weeks of spring before it heated up and was hot all summer. The Cilantro quickly went to seed, which was discouraging.
I think it tends to bolt when the temps rise above and beyond the high 70's - that's what happened here. I had a string of 80+ degree days and the patch all bolted. Of course one can save the seeds.
Growing it indoors from seed is a definite possibility. It needs 4-6 hours of sunlight a day so a sunny window would be ideal. The cooler temps indoors (presumably) will help with the bolting problem that cilantro has outdoors. I like that idea, personally and might consider growing some myself in a window. $4/bunch gets expensive. You can tent a bag over a bunch of it in a glass of water in the fridge to help it last longer but growing it at home sounds even better!
Cilantro anywhere, I've found (California, Colorado, Ontario), grows best in "patches", rather than a few plants.
Growing cilantro as a few plants, no matter where you are, will result in those plants bolting.
If you grow a thick dense patch, the plants grow slowly keeping each other from bolting.
To grow the patch, I usually throw down seed so the plants can grow less than 2" apart.
You could even plant the patch in a somewhat shady spot to further prevent the plants from bolting.
