What’s Better: Whole or Split Seed Cilantro for Microgreens?
Written by Garrett Corwin
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Introduction
When farmers decide what crops to grow, the world is their oyster. You can grow any microgreen variety you want, provided you can make a profit selling them. Most growers converge on the same crops because they’ve proven to sell well, such as basil, cilantro, broccoli, and mustard. Most crops have multiple variants, called cultivars, that farmers can choose to grow. For example, peas can be tendril peas, dwarf grey sugar peas, yellow peas, green peas, field peas, and more. Each cultivar has a slightly different cost, look, taste, and feel. The freedom to offer different cultivars is what makes each farm’s menu unique. What we’re going to talk about today are different “seed forms.” In the world of microgreens, the major debate about seed forms focuses on whole versus split cilantro seed. So, is there a difference between the two forms? Does it matter if you grow one form or the other? Is one easier, cheaper, or produces a better product? Let’s find out.
TLDR: It doesn’t matter what form of cilantro microgreens you grow. All else being equal, grow the form with cheaper seed costs.
What’s the Difference?
A seed type or seed form is a physical or biological difference between two lots of the same cultivar. Organic versus conventional seed is an easy example. You can buy and grow conventional Waltham 29 broccoli seed or USDA-certified organic Waltham 29 broccoli seed. They’re both the same cultivar, Waltham 29 broccoli, but they’re biologically different. In the case of cilantro microgreens, the variable is physical, not biological. First, though, we have to explain compound seeds. Most cultivars produce a monogerm seed, meaning the seed contains one embryo. If you plant one broccoli seed, you get one broccoli microgreen that emerges. Yet, certain cultivars naturally produce a compound or multigerm seed, whereby two or more embryos emerge from a single seed. Common examples include beet and cilantro. Here’s an example of monogerm beet from Johnny’s Select Seeds. Monogerm beet isn’t beneficial to microgreen farmers. Field farmers, though, get the benefit of not overcrowding their beets, which eliminates the need to thin the plants as they mature. Cilantro is a little bit different. Cilantro is a compound seed with two embryos that can be mechanically separated before it’s sold to growers. I couldn’t find a video showing how commercial seed suppliers split cilantro seed at scale. Here’s a video from True Leaf Market demonstrating how to
As a recap, whole and split seed cilantro are the same crop. They’re genetically and phenotypically the EXACT same. This means they’ll look, taste, and feel the same at harvest. I don’t know why suppliers ever started offering them as two distinct products, but that’s beside the point for this article. Beginner growers get confused about the differences and panic about growing the wrong form. Experienced growers either don’t care what form they grow, or they’re adamant that one form is far superior. Now we can talk about whether it truly matters.
Does it Matter?
We just established that split and whole seeds are the same crop, which means the end product is the same. If they don’t look or taste different, what about how they grow? Here’s where I think growers get unnecessarily obsessed. Split seed germinates marginally faster and sheds its seed hull, debatably, a little better. Split seed germinates about a day faster because it has a greater surface area to volume ratio (SA:V). A greater SA:V exposes the seed to more water, which triggers and accelerates the germination process. In my experience, whole seed takes 7-8 days to germinate, while split seed takes 6-7. Germination time is easy to measure and quantifiable, so I won’t argue with this point. Hull shedding is harder to measure, but I’ve also never seen a noticeable difference when growing one form over the other. In my opinion, the extent of hull shedding is related to the quality of the farm and the experience of the farmer. You’re likely seeing more seed hulls on your cilantro crop because you aren’t as good at growing cilantro as you think. It’s entirely possible to grow both seed forms and get excellent and consistent hull shedding. One form is not harder than the other.
What about cost? Both forms grow the same way - the same amount of seed, soil, water, and other inputs. The seed itself, though, can vary in cost depending on the form and the supplier. Johnny’s Select Seeds offers standard cilantro and monogerm cilantro, but at different prices. Although their monogerm form is cheaper, I’ve seen it the other way around with different suppliers. If you consistently see the split form cheaper than the whole form, that’s an obvious advantage. Buy the cheaper seed, all else being equal.
| Johnny’s Select Seeds | Standard Cilantro | Monogerm Cilantro |
|---|---|---|
| 1lb | $19.25 | $17.77 |
| 5lb | $74.75 | $53.20 |
| 25lb | $316.75 | $199 |
Let’s wrap up this debate. In my opinion, from the grower’s perspective, split and whole cilantro seed are exactly the same. From the business owner’s perspective, buy the type that’s cheaper. Regardless, get good at growing both forms. One day you’ll go to buy seed, and they’ll be out of stock of your favorite type at all suppliers. You’ll have to decide to either temporarily stop offering cilantro or grow the other form. You can now take comfort in knowing there’s practically no difference between the two.
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