If you have a protected but not-too-warm growing place, winter is a great time to grow cilantro (green coriander).

A friend in Ireland plants it in August and September, then grows it in a "hoop house" (unheated greenhouse, actually) through the winter. She says it does not bolt to flower and seed in winter.

Ireland's winter is warmer than ours, usually equated to USDA zone 7, with the lowest expected temperature of 0 degrees F. Cilantro may not survive our winter temperatures outdoors, but you could try it anyway, or you could grow it indoors. The odor of growing cilantro is unpleasant, so you won't want to grow it in a regularly frequented space. Heat causes it to bolt quickly in summer

Apparently there is a genetic difference in human taste buds, so some people have a strong dislike of cilantro, while others love it. It's used in many Mexican dishes, especially salsas, and in southeast Asian cooking where some recipes call for using the roots of cilantro. If all cilantro grew as mine does, you'd need at least four plants' roots for a tablespoon of cilantro roots.

Some call it green coriander for a good reason: the seeds are the spice known as coriander. Some readers may recall the coriander seed in the center of a "jawbreaker" candy.

DON'T FERTILIZE YOUR OUTDOORS GREENS NOW

If you're growing greens outdoors over the winter, it's not a good idea to fertilize those plants at this time of year, when sunlight is low-angled and short in duration.

Plants require light to metabolize nitrate (one of the primary elements of garden fertilizer), so during low-light periods the plant may build up nitrate that can convert to nitrite, which can be toxic to humans. For that reason, some advise harvesting in mid-day, on sunny days, rather than in fading light of afternoon.

Spinach is more prone than some other greens to accumulate nitrate.

If your greens' old leaves are yellow, they probably do need some nitrogen. Small amounts applied on different days may be used, and/or side-dress the fertilizer instead of broadcasting it. That is, applying it parallel to, but about three to four inches away from (not touching) the plants.

CUT OFF YOUR RATTY SWISS CHARD

If you still have Swiss chard in your garden, it's probably looking ratty, like mine. Cut each bunch off squarely, near ground level. I'm told it will grow back, renewed. You can also do this at any time your chard is mildewed or badly scarred by leaf miners.

Step on leaves that have visible leaf miners inside the brown portions of the leaves before composting them or put them in landfill-bound trash.

Some people leave cabbage roots in the ground after harvesting the head, but the roots will grow small new heads that are very attractive to aphids.

TRENDS: PEOPLE WILL GROW MORE FOOD

Trends in gardening for the coming year include people growing more of their own food, many gardeners mixing edible crops in with ornamentals, and even more container gardening. Gardeners will go for bold playful colors, according to the Garden Media Group. Garden groups expect more gardening, too, by "stay-cationers."

Hydroponic gardening is not far behind, with many experts expecting an emphasis on growing in soil-less media for purposes of water conservation. Conserving water will become more and more vital as populations expand into the already arid West and into new areas of drought.

Rooftop gardens in urban areas have multiplied in the past few years. Architects presumably have designed buildings to hold up under the added weight of soil and water.

Margaret Lauterbach: melauter@earthlink.net or write to Gardening, The Idaho Statesman, P.O. Box 40, Boise, ID 83707