Sowing Coriander

[chriscross1966]

Should Coriander be surface sown or just under like most other seeds.... I put some in at the weekend and fear I might have goofed....

chrisc

[chriscross1966]

[pjb]

I cover it with approx 1/4" of compost, never have a problem.

[PurpleHeather]

I grow in big (well wide, not necessarily deep) pots and use the corriander seeds meant for cooking, much cheaper and convenient as the pots can be brought in for cropping.

sow three pots then a pot every two weeks until you have a few. Depends on how much you use and how often.

You are right to sprinkle a little soil or compost over the seeds.

[elhuerto]

Mine has just germinated after about 10 days under a centimetre of compost. Got good returns last year - garlic, coriander, ginger and chilli marinated prawns - hmmm

[huehueteotl]

A trick I learned many years ago was to gently rub the seed with a half brick. This splits each round seed into two equal halves, which is fine as each round seed is actually two seeds, and this makes it easier to germinate. I generally sow under a thin layer of compost about equal to twice the thickness of the seed. I sow in succession too, in small pots for the kitchen windowsill at the start of the growing season and then outside when the soil heats up and the weather improves. generally I do this about every three weeks and when previous sowings run to flower I leave them and collect the seed to use in cooking over the winter and for growing on next year. Coriander is a great culinary  herb and I have always found it very reliable.

Hope this helps :)

[GodfreyRob]

Seems ther are lots of ways of getting coriander to grow...

I fill pots with compost, wet it and then make a small notch with a plant label in the top (about 3mm 1/4 inch deep). Then I just drop a single coriander seed into the hole - then I just leave it - no covering compost. Get about 95% germination and no thinning.

[manicscousers]

I buy a pot from asda, cut three quarters of it, grow it on and transplant into the poly border, it flowers and seeds and loads of seedlings come up in spring  ;D

[chriscross1966]

Panic over, noticed the first one had put up its head today...... everything that went in my heated propagator on Friday has now started to show except the Asparagus. I use 40-station modules and will put in single 5-strips of some things, but there's a whole tray of Asparagus ..... Might well switch somethign else into the propagator now in exchange for the mixed tray.....

[Pookledo]

Panic over, noticed the first one had put up its head today...... everything that went in my heated propagator on Friday has now started to show except the Asparagus. I use 40-station modules and will put in single 5-strips of some things, but there's a whole tray of Asparagus ..... Might well switch somethign else into the propagator now in exchange for the mixed tray.....

I've got a  few seedlings in a tray on my windowsill. Should I repot them into a large pot together and put them outside?

[chriscross1966]

Panic over, noticed the first one had put up its head today...... everything that went in my heated propagator on Friday has now started to show except the Asparagus. I use 40-station modules and will put in single 5-strips of some things, but there's a whole tray of Asparagus ..... Might well switch somethign else into the propagator now in exchange for the mixed tray.....

I've got a  few seedlings in a tray on my windowsill. Should I repot them into a large pot together and put them outside?

From memory Coriander is frost sensitive so it's a bit early to go outside permanently.... I always used to do it same way as the basil, 2-3 plants in big pots just inside the greenhouse door......

chrisc

[Pookledo]

From memory Coriander is frost sensitive so it's a bit early to go outside permanently.... I always used to do it same way as the basil, 2-3 plants in big pots just inside the greenhouse door......

chrisc

Lovely. I'll get back outside and repot the seedlings into something a little bigger to keep them going until the weather is a bit better :)

[Bjerreby]

A trick I learned many years ago was to gently rub the seed with a half brick. This splits each round seed into two equal halves, which is fine as each round seed is actually two seeds, and this makes it easier to germinate. I generally sow under a thin layer of compost about equal to twice the thickness of the seed. I sow in succession too, in small pots for the kitchen windowsill at the start of the growing season and then outside when the soil heats up and the weather improves. generally I do this about every three weeks and when previous sowings run to flower I leave them and collect the seed to use in cooking over the winter and for growing on next year. Coriander is a great culinary  herb and I have always found it very reliable.

Hope this helps :)

Well thank explains it! Quite a few of my coriander seeds come up with double sprouts! I didn't realize coriander behaves like beetroot!

[Pookledo]

Well thank explains it! Quite a few of my coriander seeds come up with double sprouts! I didn't realize coriander behaves like beetroot!

And i didn't know that is how beetroot behaves. Cool!

[saddad]

Each beetroot seed is actually a fruit with up to 6 seeds... there are some "mono-" varieties which have been developed to have just one seed per fruit..  :)

Chard and Leaf beet are also "Beet" seed....

[artichoke]

Frost sensitive?

I have a row of coriander sown in the open, August 2008, came through the winter (minus 11 degrees at least twice and heavy snow) and  producing brilliantly since late March.

[thifasmom]

mine are just germinating but they always go to seed before they get to 4" any suggestions

[Baccy Man]

It's usually heat or erratic watering that makes coriander bolt. Keep it in partial shade & don't allow it to dry out between watering. Transplanting can sometimes stress the plant & cause it to bolt so it's best sown in situ.

You can get slow bolting varieties of coriander. Alternatively you could grow Culantro (Eryngium Foetidum) which looks completely different but tastes very similar although a lot stronger. Culantro is not quite as versatile as you only use the leaf unlike coriander where you can use the leaf, root & seeds but it still comes in very useful & it's a perennial so you don't need to resow each year unless we have a particularly cold winter. The other alternative if you can find it is Vietnamese Coriander (Persicaria Odorata, syn. Polygonum Odoratum) which looks more like mint but tastes similar to coriander, not quite the same flavour but very close. You rarely see seeds for sale as it doesn't often produce any but can often find plants. It's a fast growing perennial but it does need protecting from frost in the winter, a single frost was all it took to kill mine last year.

[Bjerreby]

Frost sensitive?

I have a row of coriander sown in the open, August 2008, came through the winter (minus 11 degrees at least twice and heavy snow) and  producing brilliantly since late March.

I have 3 plants sown last August. I had them in a cold frame for the worst of the winter weather, and they have decided to grow this spring. I wouldn't say they are particularly vigorous though.

I was wondering about the cold frame. I sowed sage last year, and those new plants that spent the winter outside are far better than those I kept in the cold frame. It got so bad with the sage under glass that (comparing them with those outside) I decided to bring them out. Happily, they seem to be recovering now, but still not as green and bushy as those that  remained outside.

[dingerbell]

Re breaking coriander seed between bricks. I recall watching a telly programme some time ago that highlighted how the allotment movement now encompasses folks from every culture and there was this lovely old Indian gentleman who grew Coriander successively and he showed the breaking the seed trick......I love Coriander so this has motivated me to get growing.
Coriander is now the most widely purchased herb in England, taking the lead from Parsley.
Tom Yum soup ahoy!
Dinger

[thifasmom]

It's usually heat or erratic watering that makes coriander bolt. Keep it in partial shade & don't allow it to dry out between watering. Transplanting can sometimes stress the plant & cause it to bolt so it's best sown in situ.

You can get slow bolting varieties of coriander. Alternatively you could grow Culantro (Eryngium Foetidum) which looks completely different but tastes very similar although a lot stronger. Culantro is not quite as versatile as you only use the leaf unlike coriander where you can use the leaf, root & seeds but it still comes in very useful & it's a perennial so you don't need to resow each year unless we have a particularly cold winter. The other alternative if you can find it is Vietnamese Coriander (Persicaria Odorata, syn. Polygonum Odoratum) which looks more like mint but tastes similar to coriander, not quite the same flavour but very close. You rarely see seeds for sale as it doesn't often produce any but can often find plants. It's a fast growing perennial but it does need protecting from frost in the winter, a single frost was all it took to kill mine last year.

thanks baccyman, yes i think mine get stressed on transplanting and will plan to sow a next set in situ both in the vege beds as edging and some in the herb bed to encourage self seeding.

The Eryngium Foetidum that you mention i cal shaow beni and it grows like a weed in my country, i have grown it here once before in 2003 and it did beautifully outside as it was a scorching summer, i still have some seed maybe i'll grow some this year.

i have been given two rooted cuttings of Vietnamese coriander which are doing well on my kitchen window so i have these as a fall back