Hi
Thanks for all the posts on plot layout :) Can anyone help - growing coriander for the first time - grown too much but that would be about right being that Im just learning - after drawing them too much in the greenhouse and them becoming very 'leggy' I didnt think I was going to get any decent plants - now they are outside they seem great and really doing well except... some are growing unusually? stalks are much thcker then others, they are growing much taller and the leaves are a different shape?? more feathery is the best description i can give than what they should look like! Out of 20 or so 5 have gone this way. As not many have grown coriander its difficlut to get advice on the allotment which is a first! lol, some suggest the weather, one says they have gone to seed? can anyone help and suggest what to do with them
Thanks
Dave
Rushing off to seed - as usual?? Especially if brought up 'soft'.
I can't figure how the stuff is produced for s/markets & hotels.
Mine only lasts 'in the green' for a very short while. But you can always use the roots - required for some recipes.
As ever - succession rather than quantity is the rule.
Hello Daveev
I think the more feathery leaves you're describing are a sign that the plant is about to go to seed. The taste of the leaves deteriorates as soon as they change. The other 15 will probably go this way soon: coriander is prone to bolt at this time of year. My best crop for leaf production was from a late summer sowing.
I reckon you have two choices now: cut down the non-feathery 15 plants and freeze all the leaves by the ice cube method.
Or let the whole lot go to seed and use the dried seeds ground up in curries...
Either way, if you like this herb as much as I do it's probably time to do another sowing...
>:( and everything was goin so well - thanks for the replies and advice, so what can id o to stop this happening in future - plant out later?
I'd do as Tim suggests: keep sowing, harvesting and sowing again. The later sowings will do best if you want leaf.
Despite its exotic reputation, Coriander is really just a weed so it can stand autumn weather no problem.
P.S. Some of the seed catalogues sell varieties they claim are better for leaf/ slower to bolt. I've tried a couple of different ones and there wasn't a lot of difference.
I also freeze coriander as a block in a brown paper bag - it freezes quite well this way and maintains colour and flavour. I can then break bits off to use in cooking - although it does need to go in a little bit later than usual - i.e. 30 seconds after the cooker goes off, not as you extinguish the flame.
Lots of Thai recipes call for Cilantro root - yum
I'm growing coriander in pots in a part of the garden that is in total shade, it receives no direct sunshine whatsover, and it's showing no signs of going to seed.
The plants in my garden are now in flower, after only a few weeks harvesting leaves. I've always found it to be short lived, even though I've always used bought plants (might have a go at growing next year though). But on the plus side, insects seem to love the flowers and the seeds are great in cooking too  :)
I have been sowing and harvesting non stop. I have lots of the stuff and the taste is gorgeous :D Not sure why yours are going to seed ??? Hopefully it is not too late to sow some more ??? Good luck :D