#Decay is how you get mulch. Decay is how nutrients return to the earth

[pyxxie-nyxxie]

hi mold anti-honesty hour. opionions on decay and mushrooms and well. mold ? :3

all must be cleansed and eradicated away. the world has no need for such things.

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Where to Buy Landscaping Mulch

When to buy landscaping mulch depends on what you want to accomplish in your garden. A stone placed directly under a tree is difficult to keep clean. Organic mulch blends in with the tree's debris, making it an excellent choice for landscaping. Stone mulch is more expensive than bark mulch, but it retains heat and improves soil temperature. Bark mulch is lighter and breaks down slowly over time, returning essential nutrients to the soil. Its upfront cost is lower than rock mulch, though it reoccurs from time to time.

Some people use plastic or geotextiles under the mulch. While this helps keep weeds at bay, it can also cause runoff by preventing organic mulch from reaching the soil. This layer can also prevent water from penetrating the soil, which is why it's important to choose a reliable supplier. When buying landscaping mulch, it's important to find a high-quality product. You'll need to follow proper guidelines to avoid weed-resistant mulch.

There are various types of landscaping mulch, but some are better than others for certain purposes. Shredded mulch is ideal for garden beds, especially perennial beds. The smaller particles will make digging easier and less likely to cause damage to the plants. Wood nuggets or wood chips are also good choices, but they won't work as well under trees. The smaller particles will break down faster, and you'll have to refresh them more often.

Landscape material suppliers usually offer mulch in bagged or bulk form, and the bulk price may be cheaper than the bagged variety. Some landscape material suppliers waive their delivery fee for larger orders. However, you should also take into account the space available on your property and whether you'll need to get delivery of the mulch. These factors will determine how much mulch you'll need. So, when deciding where to buy landscaping mulch, you'll need to take a look at the different options. You can get more info about landscaping mulch on this page.

Aside from cost, the ideal mulch is dense enough to block weeds but light enough to let air in. Whether you choose to use wood chips or bark, the most important factors to consider when buying landscaping mulch are availability and aesthetics. A popular choice is organic mulch, which resembles the decay process in the earth and provides organic matter to the soil. When choosing mulch, it's important to remember that mulch is not a permanent solution. You'll need to keep replenishing it regularly to maintain its quality. It's good to click on this site to learn more about the topic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landscaping.

When to buy landscaping mulch, you'll want to know how much you need. Adding a few inches of mulch around the base of a tree or shrub will protect the roots and keep weeds from growing in the soil. Mulch will also help regulate the soil temperature in the winter, which will protect plants from frost heaving. And if you're planting perennials, it's important to do this as soon as possible before the ground freezes, so that they can dig in.

[lyricbail2]

Experiment with These Organic Gardening Tips Today!

Do you wish to start out a new lawn in your property although don't know how? Probably you do not have expertise on what is necessary to have a productive lawn. That is certainly where the next article arrives in-- you are going to end up being given tips that can make gardening easy plus fun. When boiling or maybe transfering veggies, keep typically the water the vegetables had been cooked in and permit the idea cool. Operate the water to water your garden together with. It is packed with every one of the vitamin supplements and mineral deposits that will were in this vegetables every time they were grilled and will ensure that the flowers grow as a all natural plant food. best lawn fertilizer company When the particular plant season is over, grow a new shoulder year crop whenever possible. Fruits such as strawberries or raspberries bear fruit very beginning or even very late within the year before or perhaps following your summer months veg crops take control and can be planted. Raspberries might be planted to bear fruit within the fall and even strawberries can be planted to help bear fruit inside spring. Check for weeds usually in your garden because they may leech nutrients from the dirt. Weeds can grow at some sort of high rate involving speed and overwhelm this methods available to your crops. Take the time to help check for weeds with least twice a week to catch them when they are new sets. Guard your seedlings from ice with clay pots and pans. Springtime is some sort of risky returning to a new new backyard. You wish to get your plant life going as soon as possible to make certain plenty of grow moment, nonetheless a single ice can easily wipe out your vulnerable seedlings. To shield your tiny vegetation through frost at night, simply place a small, benefit down clay pot with each seedling. They might insulate from the cold together with protect from the wind turbine. Even though railroad ties may well look very nice throughout your garden, the chemicals around them, are thought for you to be hazardous in addition to toxic to the wellness in the garden, so consider choices. Natural solid wood is effortless to get and will increase the wonderful touch for you to your garden. For yard plants that desire and need a lot involving waters, use five gal. plus to keep these dehydrated vegetables and fruit joyful. Simply drill or even punch a few 1/8" for you to 1/4" cracks into the base of a five gal. bucket, fill with water and place near the parched plant. The law of gravity enables for a good slow and even steady tearing of those vegetation and if you live throughout an location where a person get frequent rain, you will be capturing plenty of rain water to retain those buckets pretty total all season much time. Bulbs produce beautiful blossoms throughout your garden year immediately after calendar year. To achieve often the most plants, plant your current light sources once temperatures inside your area begin to be able to pet beds in the drop. This is generally Aug in zones a single for you to 4 and The month of september inside zones 4 to seven. Those in lower climates will have to chill their particular bulbs before sugar plantation. You should mulch before the particular first get cold. Spread compost or destroyed leaves all-around the garden, mulching beneath shrubs, hedges, roses, plus on top of the crown involving any offer perennials. A new layer involving compost spread on uncovered ground will help to protect just about any bulbs, corms or flower roots. By way of springtime, that compost should have been consumed into the terrain by way of worms, and your earth will be full regarding nutrition, looking forward to new sugar plantation. To make the the majority of your garden, it is usually significant in order to irrigate often the land adequately and conservatively. When quite a few might be assisted to feed, nurture their particular gardens with a lot normal water, this is not only a waste materials of normal water, but is not valuable for your plants. Make sure a person water your plants relatively for the healthiest garden attainable. When a person are ready to mulch, decide on an organic mulch. Cocoa hulls or weed-free straw wonderful cases. The mulch may eventually decay and add loaded, natural and organic nutrients to your dirt. Just add a number of inches to your yard each and every year and a person will see the extensive benefits. Clean the fallen leaves from your organic and natural garden regularly. Strive to walk through your lawn at least once the week and acquire deceased leaves. Dead renders are usually like a great large encouraged sign for disorder and harmful bacteria. Taking away them from a garden is going to help prevent the dependence on pesticide use. It's all about the mulch. try mulching all of your plant beds and timber with at least 3" from the organic material. It will reduce the use of water, add several humus and other nutrients, in addition to it will also decrease weed growth. It may also allow the beds a good nicer, more finished visual appeal. Save your seed. In case you save the seeds from your plants, anyone will have new plants at no cost often the next year. Remember to keep them in the amazing, dry place like this is essential for germination. Always select the seedling from the best personal vegetable, as this will certainly ensure that you acquire a fantastic plant next time period all around. Typically you may easily collect them coming from a good dried flower head, nonetheless when conserving seed products from something like a tomato, melon, or pumpkin, you will need for you to dry them comprehensively prior to holding them for the wintertime. Use color to provide interest to your organic backyard. Warm colors like reddish colored, orange, and yellow can assist create central points as well as make objects appear closer. If you have a new small garden that you would like in order to appear larger, try using cozy colors in this front and cool colours in the back of the room. When maintaining your own natural and organic garden during the particular winter season, build a tent inside your garden employing home materials. Find the very few bean poles, together with use them at each end of your back garden mattress by sticking them straight into the ground. Next, you wish to drape some sheets above the bean poles, creating a new tent-like structure. Hold the particular sheets in position with bricks; this assures the sides stay decrease sufficiently. Also though it is cheap and simple, it will be also an effective method involving saving your seeds in the cold season.

As was stated in often the beginning of the document, if you don't know how to be able to start a garden, the idea is probably because anyone do not know what happens into making a new lawn flourish. The suggestions that you were given in often the above post is proceeding to help you put together for the ideal garden.

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Green Landscaping Principles And Practices: Expectations Vs. Reality

Sustaining abundant natural panoramas, specifically in the dried up a few months of summertime, can be a problem. Very good natural process is in the middle of retaining issues environmentally friendly and booming. It will require planning, good dirt with appropriate amendments, and very careful trimming and trimming. Here’s an accumulation of recommendations for maintaining your landscaping design environmentally friendly all expanding season extended.

Scenery Irrigating your landscaping proficiently signifies both keeping your plant life at their best while conserving drinking water. Consider drip irrigation which is shown to be 90Per cent -95% great at giving water ( instead of 70Percent for sprinklers). Or consider palm irrigating using a garden hose or perhaps a irrigating can (use great weightlifting aspects), a exercise that literally brings you in close proximity to your plants and a wonderful way to location pest infestations and disease as you may water.

HOSES, NOZZLES & SPRINKLERS Irrigating Irrigating Products Make each drop matter with this reputable watering tools, rain and hoses barrels.

Perspective ALL When Nature doesn’t produce, your garden doesn’t have to endure. We’ve received file backup watering gear and tools that may keep the garden from heading thirsty. Let us increase jointly!

MY LATEST VIDEOS Grow indigenous and drought tolerant plant life. Find out about xeriscape landscaping, which draws attentions to eco friendly, very low-water use plantings.

Pick blooming plant life that blossom throughout the summertime. Maintain shade within your back garden by placing blossoms as well as other plant life with long blooming phases, such as impatiens, geraniums, begonias (most of these are specifically very good in planting containers). Or choose blossoms that bloom during various areas of the summertime including earlier-blooming peonies and later on-blooming bearded iris. Maintain blossoms, for example dark-eyed susans, selected to inspire much longer blooming. Mix-and-match plants and flowers that bloom at various times during the period. Add more small or dwarf time tested shrubs and bushes to maintain things natural as blossoms fade away.

Herbs, many of which started in dried out Mediterranean weather conditions add greenery and blossom colour, without having utilizing very much normal water.

Regular additions of rich compost aids your soil’s h2o preservation capabilities while including useful microbes which help vegetation utilize. Use natural and organic fertilizers as essential to be certain plants have the macro- and small-nutrients and vitamins they need to endure warm dry spells.

Mulch your landscape plant life. Mulch helps keep soil cool and maintain h2o. In addition, it promotes microbes, the and worms other microorganisms that maintain soil healthful. It contributes organic fabric returning to our planet, since it decays.

Appropriately prune your bushes and shrubs in order to avoid stress during dry intervals. Vegetation battle to keep infected and contending growth, triggering pressure towards the whole vegetation while demanding a lot more water. Keep your plant life airy, untangled and open.

Yards Select grass sorts ideal to your expanding conditions. Talk with neighbors, nursery folks, backyard night clubs, extension professional services and sod layers for guidance on which grasses do best in your area.

Most cool-weather conditions grasses will naturally go inactive during the driest months of summertime unless regularly presented an intensive irrigating. Some warm-time of year grasses for example St, Zoysia and Bermuda. Augustine, continue to keep green and growing all summertime (though do go dormant in the winter). These grasses are compatible with warm areas that do not experience tough-freezes. “Cold-hardy” Bermudas, such as Tifton 44, increase the increasing variety of the grass northward (100 miles or so) but nevertheless do not do well in locations with repeated freezes.

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Perspective ALL Slow release, natural and organic lawn fertilizers advantage your earth while providing nutrients and vitamins for the grass. Furthermore they improve soil framework, they motivate advantageous earth microbes that assault unwanted pests and diseases. Utilized together with excellent maintenance procedures they may make the yard much less work and h2o extensive.

Motivate strong, strenuous root growth. It may be gravitational pressure that directs the expansion of lawn origins, but giving the conditions that induce that progress guarantees that you’ll obtain it. That means mowing to correct , size, composting, aerating and fertilizingof course, irrigating. Setting omaha lawn mowing companies up robust beginnings will save water and improves drought endurance.

Cutting lawn short at the beginning of the time of year could be attractive and help save function but it can sap your lawn’s wellness. Lengthier spears of grass improve h2o and photosynthesis retention. Lengthier grass shades garden soil, assisting to make it great, and inhibits germination of marijuana seed. Slicing lawn short discourages root development.

Never mow awesome-season too close, particularly because the summer season moves along. The popularly held guideline-of-thumb claims too never reduce multiple-3rd of blade duration at any one mowing. Enable a yard that you just will lower to 3 inches expand to four-and-a-one half ins before cutting. Make your mower cutting blades sharp. More clean reductions intimidate suggestion disease, browning and dampness reduction.

Fertilize. Give your lawn each 4-6 months. Utilize an organic and natural fertilizer made to give you the nitrogen that grasses should continue to be eco-friendly. Fertilizing your lawn helps ensure brisk, healthful rooting. This gives your lawn to get the best using the normal water it prevents and gets browning.

A springtime implementation of garden compost will nourish your lawn’s garden soil and aid to ensure very good dampness retention. Garden compost may help smother rising unwanted weeds along with introduce microbial activity that maintains your soil healthy.

Utilize a fertilizer, including Milorganite, which has iron to boost you lawn’s shade. Steel-that contain fertilizers are a good, short-phrase correct for more aged lawns that need revitalizing but needs to be utilized together with an extended-phrase soil building plan which includes garden compost as well as other amendments.

Aerate your lawn in order to avoid soil compaction. Compacted earth stimulates thatch to create and water to runoff. Aerating is a type of underlying prune that energizes robust development. Small yards can be aerated utilizing a guide garden aerator or backyard garden fork, major gardens will need hiring an electrical power aerator.

Should you must normal water (and also in most areas you should if you wish your grass eco-friendly from the stop of summer time), do it successfully.

The volume of drinking water your grass demands is determined by the sort of grass you increase and your earth situations. Numerous grasses call for 1.5 in . of dampness every week, some up to 2.5 ins. Should you don’t water effectively, or if your dirt is compacted and it has poor moisture content maintenance, your lawn will dark brown despite your efforts.

Determine simply how much water you’ve placed on your garden by positioning open up tuna fish or pet food containers (roughly one and one-quarter " deeply or larger sized) or soup cans to figure out once the preferred amount of water has become achieved.

Assurance Garden Proper care Natural and organic Garden Treatment Here’s each of the equipment and products you need to keep the garden healthier and delightful.

See ALL Greatest causes of organic and natural yard care? Your children, your household pets, you! Compound-cost-free countryside provde the serenity-of-imagination which comes from delivering your loved ones a wholesome place for backyard play and collecting.

Ensure that the water penetrates garden soil seriously, no less than five ins and much more like seven in . (or approximately ten) according to the sort of grass on your property. Use a hori-hori knife, slim trowel or large flat-go screwdriver to judge how profoundly dampness has penetrated. Drive it into the dirt till you satisfy level of resistance, tag the location around the device (carefully getting it involving the thumb and forefinger will do) and remove it.

Soft sandy soils allow water to permeate profoundly. Every two or so days and nights, as necessary, if your soil is sandy implement a lot less water more frequently. Loam soils ought to be properly watered each and every three to five days. Tougher, clay soils requires far more serious and in depth applications roughly each and every five to a week.

If your lawn has a sprinkler watering program, ensure it’s set for maximum effectiveness. This includes proper operate-configurations for earlier or later waterings (even immediately) which can be established to appropriate quantities. Make sure sprinklers heads are set to successfully protect lawns without wasting water ondrive-ways and pathways. Otherwise, other places where it’s not essential.

“Syringing” a garden — making use of an easy irrigating for the leaves prior to or in the warmest part of the day time — can sluggish browning and cause-problems on the dirt line. Syringing is likewise useful when you are frustrating the distribute of thatch. The College of California delivers tips on syringing (PDF) and other reliable information on irrigating successfully.

Comply with strategies for early morning or evening irrigating to reduce wind and sunlight water loss. Always maintain up to date with community watering restrictions, particularly in regions with a record of drought, which may involve days, times and volume of irrigating or bar it all together.

Why not distribute in the standard grass all together? (Respond to: your pets and children need to have a spot to perform.) Look at growing native and drought-tolerant grasses or, particularly for modest regions, think about anything entirely away from pack like a thyme grass.

[misscicily-blog]

10 Tips for Spring Cleanup and Lawn Care Here are 10 tips for cleaning up your yard this spring—and laying the foundation for a great-looking lawn. As soon as snow season is over (if you have one) or your soil dries up, you know that it’s time for spring cleanup. In our region, we look to nature’s signs, too. Lawn care begins between the bloom times of the forsythia and lilac bushes. You put a lot into your home and property, so take a weekend or two to roll up your sleeves and get outside to care for your yard. People who neglect spring cleanup end up paying more in mowing and lawn care during the rest of the year. CLEAN UP LEAVES Even if you cleaned up the leaves in the fall, there are many trees (such as oaks) that shed their leaves over the winter and spring. It’s important to rake up those leaves to remove layers of leaves that can lead to grass mold or decay. If you have a compost pile (or want to start one!), add those leaves to the pile; they’re excellent organic material for plant beds and mulch. If you have a larger yard, consider a low-noise leaf blower (like this one from Echo). Many blowers today offer low levels of noise unlike blowers of years past. You can also safely blow leaves out of your gutters—right from the ground. A clean gutter prevents pest nesting areas, water damage, ice dams, and gutter damage. RAKE THE GROUND—DEEPLY After blowing away the leaves, do a deep raking of your yard. Don’t just sweep the surface. Rake away thatch and any grass blades that have died over the winter. You don’t want more than ½-inch of thatch on the ground. If you have snow in your region, you may spot some matted patches. Rake them. GET RID OF WEEDS Weeds will only get worse as daylight hours increase during summer. Pull weeds or cut them away now while it���s easy. As they grow, their roots will strengthen and they will be very difficult to pull out. If you plan to spray for weeds, the best plan is to apply a “pre-emergent” herbicide in the fall—because this inhibits weed seeds (especially crabgrass) from even germinating. If you see perennial weeds emerge in the spring, you can spray a post-emergent herbicide. This is less effective than the autumn timing, since the growth has already begun. Go to the garden store, buy a lawn weed preventer that covers both grassy weeds (e.g., crabgrass) and broadleaf weeds (e.g., dandelions), and put it down with a lawn spreader (like this one from Echo). Then water your lawn for an hour; it’s critical that it soaks down into the ground, all the way to the weeds’ roots. If you already have dandelions, a common perennial weed in early spring, you can also dig them out by their roots or just enjoy their yellow blooms. Note: Snap off dandelion heads before they seed if you don’t want more dandelions next year. If you are maintaining a yard without chemicals, you could always harvest dandelion greens when young and tender! Yes, you can eat many “weeds”! LOOSEN THE SOIL Does your property have flower beds? After the winter, the soil may be completely compacted. It’s important to loosen the soil to help oxygen reach the plants roots. You can use hand tools for small areas, but larger areas may benefit from tiller (like this one from Echo). Some trimmers have tiller attachments. The lawn also gets compacted soil, especially if people walk on it. If you see patches of moss or signs of decline, we would advise aerating the lawn. However, this is usually best done in the fall. Plan to rent a lawn aerator at your local home improvement store. Moss can also mean that your lawn is getting acidic. If you are growing grass, the goal is a neutral pH. Get a soil test (often free or done for a small fee through your local County Cooperative Extension office). If your lawn is acidic, you’ll need to apply lime to it; the Extension folks can advise you. EDGE GARDEN BEDS Nothing finishes a yard like a crisp edge between a sidewalk and the turf. If you’d like to create that perfect manicured look, consider trying out an edger (like this one from Echo). You may also want to redraw the bou ndary between your garden beds and grass. Wider beds mean less lawn care, too. Here’s how to do it: Use a garden hose to mark out a nice line for your garden beds. Then, along this bed line, take a sharp metal edger and drive it into the ground as deep as it will go. Dig all along the hose line and then remove the grass that’s there, creating a nice bed. Once done, fill up the bed with 2 to 3 inches of mulch (pine bark is a good choice)—or you’ll just get a bed of weeds! (See photo below.) Now transplant or plant some flowers! FERTILIZE YOUR LAWN—OR NOT We don’t think that it’s necessary to fertilize your lawn in the spring. The best time for fertilizing is autumn—while the grass is still green but not growing or greening. This may sound counterintuitive, but fall is when grass plants take up nitrogen to help them green up more quickly in the spring. However, some folks like to apply fertilizer in the spring, too. If you do this, apply lightly. Heavy fertilization is not good for the grass and can also lead to disease problems. Cool-season grasses can be fertilized early in spring. Just go to a garden center, buy the fertilizer for your type of grass, and apply it evenly with a lawn spreader (like this one from Echo). Note that warm-season grasses (e.g., Bermuda grass) can be fertilized in late spring once they green up. If you’re interested in a more organic way to fertilize, use a mulching mower—which returns grass clippings back to the soil. This saves you time and energy, while also improving the condition of your lawn. Since grass clippings contain up to 90 percent water, the clippings dry up very quickly. It’s almost as if the grass clippings disappear. Plus, this returns 25 percent of the nutrients to the soil—a fantastic fertilizer. SEED BARE PATCHES What if your lawn has bare patches from traffic or even pets? It’s really best to reseed in the fall, but if you’re desperate to fix these patches, try seeding in March or April. Use a steel rake to scuff up the area. Loosen the soil. Scrape some compost into the area. Sprinkle grass seed on the spot. (Use a sun/shade premium mix, unless the area’s heavily shaded.) Keep the soil moist. Cover the seeds with straw matting or another material. Even grass clippings will do. You just want to cover the spot with some sort of material to hold seeds in place. If you’re using a pre-emergent herbicide in the spring, keep in mind that it kills both weed and grass seeds; this is why fall is a better time to seed grass. PRUNE TREES AND TRIM HEDGES Fruit trees (especially apple trees) need to be pruned in the spring to stay healthy and produce a good harvest. When to prune a tree or shrub depends mostly on when it blooms and whether it blooms on growth produced in the same or previous years. Generally, those that flower after midsummer are pruned hard in the spring. Take care not to prune too early, as the incisions can dry out if the temperature drops below freezing. See our spring pruning chart. To prune trees yourself, look into tree pruners with long reach poles (like this one from Echo) so you can keep your own feet safely on the ground. Winter or early spring is the best time to trim any hedges with leaves. Also use a hedge trimmer (like this one from Echo) for conifers—once during the early spring and again midsummer. MOW GRASS—BUT NOT TOO SOON You may be relieved to know that the first mow really shouldn’t occur until the grass level reaches 2 to 3 inches tall. The lawn needs time to recover after winter. We’re becoming fans of “mowing high.” Longer grass shades the earth underneath, which allows fewer weed seeds to sprout. Also, you won’t need to water your lawn as often. If you use a traditional lawn mower, spring is the time to clean (or replace) the filter and spark plugs. It’s important to sharpen the mower blade every month or two for a clean cut. When you just rip grass and leave it with open cuts, you leave your yard susceptible to fungi and disease. See more about lawn care. If you’re interested in alternative mowers, consider a reel mower or an electric mower as a more environmentally friendly option. These mowers work best if your property is one-third of an acre or less. It’s important to mow your grass regularly, as it’s much more difficult to cut the grass if it gets way too tall (as many of us have experienced firsthand!). Of course, we have to mention that there are alternatives to grass as well! Many folks are starting to use more ground cover plants (such a sedum), walkways, and wider flower beds. There’s also a growing trend to add vegetable garden beds or to integrate edibles (herbs, vegetables, fruit) into your front yard. See more about edible landscaping! TRIM YOUR LAWN Trim the edges of your lawn to redefine its borders. A reader once told us that a lawn trim is similar to a hair cut! You chop off your hair, but then you need to trim a nice line to look neat and well-manicured. Many lawn mowers aren’t able to do a good job of cutting the sideways grasses along the edges or trimming grass around posts and fence lines. A good trimmer (like this one from Echo) can reach those tight spaces and get close to planting beds. Not everything on this list is necessary for every yard, but we think that we’ve covered everything that you’ll need to think about this spring! Source:almanac

[sherristockman]

Grow Great Cilantro Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola From 207 B.C. to 220 A.D., China’s Han dynasty used cilantro and coriander in part because they thought it would make them immortal. The herb was used by the Greek and Roman physicians, including Hippocrates, who made medicine from different parts of the plant. Naturally, it was also used as a spice. The fact that it was added to a vinegar used to preserve meat is an indication of its potency. Like other herbs, cilantro's shiny, scalloped leaves contain its share of potent compounds that give it multiple health benefits. Clinical studies have found it to be antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic and disinfectant, the most prolific of these being: Antioxidant polyphenolic flavonoids like quercetin, kaempferol, rhamnetin and apigenin Minerals like potassium, iron, calcium, manganese and magnesium Vitamins A, C and K, as well as B vitamins If someone asked you to name the top five most important ingredients in Mexican or Thai cooking, cilantro would probably be on the list. It's the quintessential herb for such dishes as gazpacho, enchiladas and fajitas, and an absolute necessity if you're making salsa, whether you like the tomato- and jalapeno-based kind or the slightly sweeter recipe using peaches and mangoes. Avocado is one pairing with cilantro that seems like a match made in heaven, but its love affair with tomatoes take the prize. A few teaspoons of chopped cilantro on a plate of quick-grilled cherry tomatoes with creamy mozzarella cheese drizzled with olive oil is something like a religious experience. Then there’s lime, which goes well with cilantro when it comes to enhancing the flavor. Thai cuisine makes wonderful use of this pungent plant, resulting in what most Thai aficionados will tell you is the difference between "good" and "fantastic." Pad Thai, one of the genre's most popular dishes, combines the herb with rice noodles, chicken or tofu, fish sauce, garlic and ginger, the cilantro adding a tweak of citrus-like brightness. Mother Earth News suggests chopping peanuts and cilantro together as a topping for such dishes, or for Oriental dipping sauce, but the roots have culinary use as well. In Southeast Asia, they're dug up, scrubbed, chopped and added to pickled condiments. Cilantro and Coriander — What's the Difference? Depending on where you are in the world, you may refer to the leaves of this herb as cilantro and the seeds as coriander — or just the opposite. Generally, the former is correct; however, others believe the difference between the two depends on the life cycle of the herb. What's Cooking America observes: "Cilantro, Coriandrum sativum, describes the first or vegetative stage of the plant's life cycle. After the plant flowers and develops seeds, it is referred to as coriander. Cilantro (sih-LAHN-troh) is the Spanish word for coriander leaves. It is also sometimes called Chinese or Mexican parsley."1 There's another difference, too, and it has to do with whether you love the herb, or not so much. Some have described the taste of cilantro leaves as reminiscent of soap; others don't get that descriptor at all. Some who don't care for the leaves don't mind the taste of the tiny round seeds, which Mother Earth News says "taste of sage and lemon or orange peel, and season many traditional Indian dishes, especially curries."2 The fragrance of cilantro is definitely unique, and explains its name, which in the original Greek means "bedbug," but when the seeds begin to mature, the strong smell dissipates. Unlike many herbs, cilantro is an annual, meaning it must be planted rather than appearing voluntarily every year like perennials (usually) do. It grows best in cool weather; it doesn't mind more sun during the spring and fall, but in warmer climates, it should be planted in areas of partial shade, if possible, and the plants kept moist, especially during the warmest seasons. Growing Cilantro Like a Pro Cilantro, a member of the carrot and parsley family, has a verdant, fern-like appearance, which is easy to harvest. The more mature it is, the more feathery it appears, but it tastes best when it’s more flat than feathery. Its fanlike leaves are easy to chop to add to dishes. How to get your cilantro to that point is surprisingly easy when you start with seeds straight into the garden, one-half inch deep in easily drained soil in a sunny spot (or shady in a particularly hot climate), and after the last hard frost if possible. Growing inside for later transplant into the soil outside is not recommended. However, you can also grow cilantro in pots to place in a sunny window, patio or porch. Just make sure the pots have good drainage. Here's a tip many gardeners swear by: splitting half your seed. That's right — just using your thumbnail against your palm, or a sharp knife on a cutting board, you can split the little round seeds and plant them along with whole seeds if you'd like. Many gardeners swear by the technique, according to Organic Authority,3 saying it encourages germination. The Spruce4 suggests two superior seed varieties: Santo and Marino are full of flavor and slow to bolt, aka "go to seed," which cilantro can do rather quickly when the days get longer and the temperature soars. Because cilantro is an early bolter, you may want to look for other varieties labeled "bolt resistant." Festival, known to grow quickly, has large leaves and winters well in hardiness zones 8 and 9.5 Once the seedlings pop up, thin them to stand about 4 inches apart, although the plants don't actually last long enough to become crowded. Cilantro usually grows to between 6 and 10 inches in height and, like many other herbs, harvesting the leaves encourages plants to spread; most varieties reach 4 to 10 inches in width. Something to note is that over-fertilization may release too much nitrogen into the soil, which can diminish the vibrance of the flavor. However, you can expect problems like pests or diseases to be practically nonexistent when it comes to growing cilantro. Even deer don't munch it. One thing cilantro loves is rich organic matter, which can consist of broken down and decayed leaves, compost and animal manure to improve the soil. The Spruce notes: "Organic matter contains acids that can make plant roots more permeable, improving their uptake of water and nutrients, and it can dissolve minerals within the soil, leaving them available for plant roots. Organic matter improves the quality of your garden soil and helps to keep your garden in balance with nature. You can add it as an amendment and work it into your soil or take the easier route and use it to mulch you garden. It will eventually work itself into the soil."6 Caring For and Harvesting Your Cilantro Pinch off stems toward the upper part of the plant, but even if the plant should begin producing pale mauve-colored flowers (indicating that the leaves will produce a slightly more bitter flavor), even those are edible; try using them in a salad. The blossoms are also excellent at attracting desirable bees and other pollinating critters to your garden. You're generally able to begin harvesting in 50 to 55 days (which you might want to write on your plant markers, along with the date the seeds were planted as a reference). To mature and dry properly, seed production takes about 100 days. You'll note that when you plant a patch or row of cilantro, every plant tends to reach its peak all at the same time. You no sooner get started with harvesting, it seems, than it begins to bolt. You can circumvent this by planting smaller amounts at two-week intervals throughout the season to prolong the harvest. Whether you cut cilantro from your garden or purchase it in gathered bunches from the produce section of most grocery stores, it will last for several days, especially if you wrap them loosely in a dry paper towel to wick off any moisture before refrigerating it. Here's a hint passed along by Rodale's Organic Life: "The seeds ripen and scatter quickly, so cut the entire plant as soon as the leaves and flowers turn brown. Tie the plants in bundles and hang them upside down with a paper bag tied securely around the flowerheads to catch the seeds as they dry."7 If they're soaking wet, gently shake off the excess moisture and wrap them in a dry paper towel. Whether you wash cilantro before refrigerating it or waiting until you use it, keeping it dry in storage is key. Another storage method is placing the cut ends in a glass of water in the refrigerator, again, covered loosely with a plastic bag. Mother Earth News notes: "You also can freeze leaves that have been rinsed and patted dry. When frozen, cilantro leaves retain much of their flavor; when dried, leaves lose flavor. Store dry coriander seeds whole, in an airtight container, in a cool, dark place; they will keep for more than a year."8 Freezing Cilantro (and Other Herbs) When freezing herbs like cilantro, which is a good preservation technique for herbs with a high water content, you'll want to use the leaves when they're at their freshest and most flavorful (harvested in the morning when they're still dewy, if possible). They may become limp, but still retain their flavor for several months. Here's the drill for freezing cilantro whole: Use paper towels to pat them dry (although completely dry is not necessary). Spread leaves on a baking sheet or other flat surface individually so they don't stick together. Cover with waxed paper (freezing plastic wrap isn't recommended) to keep them clean and to prevent them from falling off the tray. When they're frozen solid, remove them from the tray, place them in airtight containers and return to the freezer. Once they're frozen they no longer stick together. Label the containers and include the date. If you'd like to freeze cilantro for later use in cooking, doing so in ice cube trays is an innovative method. Just pop a few into cilantro cubes into your soups and stews. Again, use the freshest cilantro leaves. Wash if needed and pat dry, but because you'll be placing them in water anyway, they don't have to be bone dry; patting them down helps prevent a watery mess on the counter. Stuff two to three individual leaves or a spoonful of chopped cilantro into each tray pocket. (You don't have to be gentle, crushing them a bit releases their oil, which freezes along with the leaves.) Fill each pocket with water, covering every bit possible. Floaters are dealt with when you allow them to freeze partially; fill the tray again to completely cover them and replace into the freezer. Once frozen, the cilantro-infused cubes can be removed from their trays, placed in airtight containers and put back into the freezer. When cooking with chopped cilantro, add it toward the end. Coriander seeds aren't adversely effected by heat. They can actually be roasted in a dry skillet until they take on a nutty aroma, which is delicious and adds a nice texture when they're crushed and used in curries and dips. In addition to the cilantro leaves having medicinal uses as far back as Babylon, the seeds were used as a confectionery seasoning and spice, and coriander seed oil has a multitude of uses, both in the kitchen and as a medicinal for athlete’s foot, as a pain reliever and antibacterial, among other things, due to the linalool content.