Cilantro is a delightful culinary addition to Hispanic cuisine. Of course, the percentage of the population that says it tastes like soap would disagree. In any case, every part of the plant is edible, from its roots to its stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds. Cilantro is an indispensable part of Asian and Mexican cuisine, and it’s easy to grow under the right circumstances.

The plant enjoys cool temperatures, full sun to partial shade, and average watering. Cilantro also needs rich soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0, and the right companion plants. Here are a few of them.
1. Eggplant

Eggplants are best when they’re 3 to 5 inches long.
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Eggplant loves nothing more than heat and blasting sunlight. It wilts with even a touch of frost, but the large leaves of the plant can provide shade for cilantro plants. It’s a member of the nightshade family, so unlike cilantro, every part of the eggplant is poisonous, except its fruit.
This vegetable takes a while to mature, so it’s a good idea to start it indoors well before the last frost. Don’t plant it out until the temperature of the soil is at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Eggplant is also a heavy feeder, so amend the soil with compost before planting, and apply manure water every two weeks. It also needs a lot of fresh water to bear well. Though supermarkets sell rather large eggplants, the ideal size for an eggplant to be harvested is between 3 and 5 inches.
2. Potato

Potatoes can be a bit of work to grow, but they’r worth it.
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The potato is also a member of the nightshade family, and only the tubers are edible. If you leave a potato plant alone, it will eventually produce a fruit that looks like a green tomato. Don’t eat it, because it is poisonous! Potatoes can be a warm-season vegetable in the north or a cool-season vegetable in the south or west. Growing potatoes is a bit more work than growing some other vegetables. Potato eyes need to be cured, then they need to be hilled after they sprout to keep them from turning green. Still, potatoes are good cilantro companion plants.
Potatoes are light feeders, but you should amend the soil with compost before planting, then give them side dressings after their first hilling. They also need medium to heavy watering when the plant starts to blossom. Cover them up if a hard frost is coming.
3. Tomatoes

Tomatoes make fantastic cilantro companion plants.
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Like its cousin the eggplant, all parts of the tomato are poisonous save the fruit. Tomatoes like it hot, to a point. If the temperature soars into the upper 90s, the plant is liable to drop its flowers. However, heat is just the thing to ripen the fruit and help the rest of the plant flourish. You can plant tomatoes on their sides in a trench with only the top leaves showing above the soil. The buried stem will grow rootlets of its own and promote the plant’s growth.
Tomatoes like soil that’s a bit acidic, and soil can have a pH as low as 5.8. However, tomatoes also thrive in soil that’s good for cilantro. Tomatoes are heavy feeders, and you should add fertilizer to the soil one week before and on the same day you transplant your seedlings. Make sure the plant doesn’t get too much nitrogen or potassium when it starts to blossom. You can tell if you have too much nitrogen if you have an abundance of leaves and not that many blossoms. Gardening experts recommend side dressing with calcium. Watering should be medium but deep until it’s time to harvest, and keeping the soil evenly moist prevents a condition called blossom end rot.
4. Peas

Pick peas when the pods are fat, green, and crisp.
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Like cilantro, peas do best in cool weather but are damaged by frost. The best way to grow peas is to amend the soil in the fall, then rake it during the spring thaw before you plant the seeds. They grow in soil that has the same or a slightly more alkaline pH than cilantro. Because peas fix nitrogen, they don’t need that much fertilizing, and when they are fed, they only need a bit of phosphorus and potassium. Indeed, when pea plants are spent you can bury them in the soil to enrich it.
Peas don’t need much water until they start to bloom, then they should be watered heavily. Since pea plants are vines, they’ll need some support in the form of a trellis or an A-frame. This should give some shade to cilantro plants if you think they’re getting a bit too much sun. Harvest the pea pods when they are fat, crisp, and still bright green.
5. Basil

This is Genovese basil. Many varieties of basil are good cilantro companion plants.
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The indispensable basil also thrives in hot weather and makes an excellent companion plant for cilantro. There are many types of basil, and all are easy to grow. Plant the seeds after the danger of frost is over, then harvest early in the season to keep the plants from crowding. Basil likes full sun and only moderately fertile soil. It doesn’t even need a lot of water, as long as the soil is kept evenly moist. Basil is a great companion plant in general. It not only repels pests that attack other plants in your garden but makes those other herbs and vegetables taste better.
6. Caraway

Every part of the caraway herb can be used.
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Humans have used caraway for thousands of years, and like cilantro, all parts of the plant are eaten. The leaves are tossed into salads, the seeds add flavor to bread and cheese, and you can cook and eat the roots like carrots. Its oil is used in the Swedish liqueur Aquavit and the German liqueur Kümmel.
Caraway is a warm-season plant, and like cilantro, it’s sensitive to frost. Technically a biannual, it’s grown as an annual in most places, though if you want seeds, you’ll need to maintain it into its second year. It’s such a good companion plant for cilantro because it loosens the soil and attracts beneficial insects such as ladybugs. Caraway is easy to grow. It needs soil with a pH between 5.5 and 7.0 and doesn’t need much fertilizing or watering, though the soil needs to stay evenly moist. You may need to be vigilant with caraway because it can be invasive.
7. Chervil

Chervil is a good cilantro companion plant. It’s used in many French dishes.
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This elegant herb with its delicate leaves, tiny white flowers, and somewhat anise-like flavor is more popular in Europe than America. It’s especially popular in France in soups such as consommé Alice. Still, chervil makes a great companion for cilantro. Once it starts to grow chervil is a surprisingly tough plant despite its looks.
Chervil is a cold-season plant, and its seeds need some treatment to enable them to germinate easily. Soak the seeds overnight, drain them, then place them on a damp towel. Fold the towel up and put it in the fridge for about two weeks before you plant the seeds. Like basil, chervil likes to be picked, so pick the leaves whenever you need some. Also, like basil, chervil seems to repel pests, so it’s a good idea to plant it beside cilantro.
Some Bad Cilantro Companion Plants

Don’t plant fennel near cilantro, or most other plants.
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Some gardeners swear that cilantro does not have incompatibles. Others claim that incompatible plants include those that thrive in sandy soil in full sunlight and don’t need much water. These plants include lavender, rosemary, and thyme. Another herb/vegetable that really shouldn’t be planted near cilantro is fennel. Fennel isn’t a good companion for most plants. Its seeds are filled with negative allelopathic chemicals that they secrete into the soil. These chemicals stunt the growth of the plants around them, including cilantro, and can even stop seeds from sprouting in the first place. If the seeds do sprout, the chemicals from the fennel can prevent them from taking up the nutrients they need.
Summary of The Top 7 Cilantro Companion Plants (and What to Avoid)
Plant | |
---|---|
1 | Eggplant |
2 | Potato |
3 | Tomato |
4 | Peas |
5 | Basil |
6 | Caraway |
7 | Chervil |
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