Growing your own food has a number of benefits for your health, pocket, and the environment around you. But it can be frustrating if some plants don't last as long as you expected.
One farmer and gardening expert has revealed a simple trick on how to successfully grow vegetation like cilantro, which can be done in seconds.
The scoop
Ruth, of Delaware farm and market Highland Orchards, (@highland_orchards) revealed the hack in a video uploaded to Instagram.
In the short clip, she revealed that cilantro, while a much-loved herb in the kitchen, can be frustrating to grow because it has a tendency to "bolt" fairly quickly.
Bolting refers to the process when a plant stops producing leaves and only then produces flowers and seeds. Once an herb like cilantro gets to this point, it no longer will grow the leaves commonly used in a variety of dishes.
Ruth explained there are two factors that lead to bolting in cilantro:
1. Heat over 75 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Lack of water
"The challenge with cilantro is once it starts to bolt, the new growth bolts immediately," she says.
To keep the plant successful and producing leaves, Ruth recommends cutting the plant frequently. She also revealed how often you should replant the herb to keep a steady harvest.
"We plant cilantro every three weeks," she says. "We don't count on having cilantro for more than three weeks at a time, sometimes you do and then you have extra. But especially during the heat of the summer you don't."
How it's working
Growing your own food can have so many benefits for your mental and physical health. Studies have found that individuals who garden often get larger intakes of fiber every day and see their stress or anxiety levels drop. Additionally, gardening helps increase your daily physical activity. Other research has also found that community gardening can help reduce risks for diseases contracted later in life like cancer.
At the same time, gardening and farming can help save you money on produce you would typically purchase at a store and reduce your impact on air heating pollutants caused by the production and shipping needed to get those items in store.
Research has found that around 0.18 pounds of air pollution is generated for each pound of food transported. By growing your own food, you can help decrease the demand for mass-produced food, ultimately reducing the amount of pollution released each year.
What people are saying
Other gardeners have raved over the trick, with many saying they found it to be extremely useful.
"That was so helpful! Thank you! I now know to replant it often," one Instagram user said.
"Just the info I needed," another wrote.
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