Cilantro - My favorite herb

The Cilantro seedings emerged today!  Nine days after sowing the seeds, I get to see the seedlings.  I am finding that "hatching" the seedlings is fairly easy, but seedlings are fragile.  It is more of a challenge to deal with the seedlings once they have emerged and need to be transplanted to a soil mixture and need some fertilizer.  Here is a photo of my newly emerged Cilantro seedlings.

My plan is to leave the seedlings in this pot and not transplant them.  Hmmm...I used a soiless, seedling mixture to sow the seeds.  I need to re-think my plan.  All plants need soil.

Here is the Cilantro seedlings on Feb. 4,2011.  They are 4 days old.  They seem to all be doing well, but have not gotten their first leaves yet.

Wondering if I should thin them...

Top view of Cliantrol seedlings.

The Sunset web site had an interesting method for growing cilantro in a pot.  They recommend using a 18-inch wide and 10-inch deep pot and then harvesting using sissors only 1/3 of the leaves at a time (see photo above) and allowing the cuttings to re-establish their leaves.

Here is a photo from a "how to" web site which shows a cilantro seedling.

Here is a photo of that same cilantro seedling.

Here is photo of that same cilantro seedling that is now a plant.  I know that it is important to not let the soil temperature reach 75 degrees, because once that happens the cilantrol will bolt to seed.  Here in Fallon, that will happen around June 21st.

Here is a photo of a close-up of the Cilantro leaves.

Update:

February 9, 2011.  The cilantro has been thinned a little.  First real leaves are growing.  It smells like Cilantro.  I love that smell!

February 16, 2011.  Cilantro update: