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Growing coriander

msqingxiaomsqingxiao Posts: 482
in Fruit & veg
Hi all, I'm trying to grow some coriander. Having read a few old threads here and on other websites I'm still quite confused as many different opinions given. I plan to sow them in pots directly and keep them in pots. So my questions are:
  • In what kind of temperature can I grow them outdoors in pots?
  • Shall I put the pot in a sunny location or partial shade?
  • If they need to be kept indoors when outside temperature is low as now, can I put them on a sunny south-facing windowsill or will they bolt?
Much appreciate if people with experience can share some tips. Thanks!
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Posts

  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    edited April 2023
    Go to the supermarket, buy a pot of coriander as a growing herb. Take it home, split it into three or four bigger pots, keep it frost free and water water water it. Keep cutting it and despite your very best efforts it will bolt in a very short time (less than a month IME). At that point you can let it flower and then collect the seeds, if you have spare pots. Return to the SM and buy another pot, rinse and repeat
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Agree @raisingirl   Coriander is so hard to grow.  I don't know how the sellers at the markets can grow such big green bunches. (which I buy, chop and freeze).    I've been given a plant called "Indian Coriander" which I will try and grow.  It smells the same as coriander but it has long oval leaves.
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • Singing GardenerSinging Gardener Posts: 1,237
    I grow a variety called Calypso which is very slow to bolt. Most of the year I leave it in pots outside but when it's very cold I bring it in and keep it on my kitchen windowsill.
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    edited April 2023
    It's called Vietnamese Coriander (Cilantro).  

    https://www.homestratosphere.com/types-of-cilantro/
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • msqingxiaomsqingxiao Posts: 482
    Thank you all! Guess I'll give the supermarkets ones another go then. I tried previously but found that they had quite feeble roots so didn't last that long. I'll try watering a bit more this time. Do I keep them on a sunny windowsill or somewhere more shady pls?
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    I also grow the variety 'Calypso' because it is slower to bolt than other varieties. Usually sown into modules under cover (frost free rather than 'indoor' temps) mid March and plugs planted out early May. I then make 2 further direct outdoor sowings early May and mid August. This usually keeps a supply of coriander through most of the year. 

    If you want to sow and grow in pots you could probably do it outside now. I'd put the pot in a sheltered, part shaded spot with some clear perspex / cling film etc over the top of the pot to act as a mini propagator. Remove the cover when seeds germinate. If night temps are below 5C I'd bring the pot in o/night and put it out during the day. 

    Once the seedlings have germinated the pot will be better in a sunnier spot and kept well watered (but definitely not waterlogged). The one thing guaranteed to make coriander bolt is drought and / or high temps. So if it starts getting hot, that's when the pot will do better in a shadier spot.

    You will need to do a couple of repeat sowings as all coriander eventually goes to seed. I usually sow coriander quite thickly (seeds about 2cm apart) and thin if necessary (the thinnings can be used as micro herbs).
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • pinutpinut Posts: 194
    With salad-type of crops, it is better to grow a mass of it. I can never get enough coriander so I grow 2 square meters of it on rotation.

    The first batch of seeds are sown late April/early May, in long drills about 2cm deep and about 6cm apart. I harvest by pulling when I see a carpet of green that are about 8cm tall - coriander is more aromatic and tender when harvested young.

    When 1 square meter has been cleared, I start off another batch of seeds elsewhere.

    Like others have mentioned, Coriander calypso is a very good variety to choose.

    I can confirm that the packet Indian coriander seeds (eg brand name Rajah) as sold in supermarkets and corner shops for the purposes of making curries are viable seeds but you have to be a little more generous when sowing as they have been stored for a long time.

    The Indian coriander is just as aromatic as calypso but it is not as leafy nor as tender.

    Fresh untreated (ie not heat treated) coriander seeds from Egypt are also very good.
  • AsarumAsarum Posts: 661
    This is my coriander Calypso which I sowed in September. It has come through this winter just covered with fleece! I didn’t realise it was hardy although I expect it will soon flower and seed. 
    East Anglia
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    @tui34 yor Vietnamese coriander is a different plant and a form of polygonum/persicaria - https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/113569/polygonum-odoratum/details 

    I've tried coriander from seed and coriander form spliiting pots from the SM or GC.  It is fiendishly uncooperative but I shall try again as the wee packs sold here in SMs are ridiculously small and I've never seen it in the markets here.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    edited April 2023
    If you sow it after mid summer it is slower to bolt, but I sow three lots, I harvest twice from each sowing, once when they have 2-3 leaves per plant and once just before they flower. I then leave them to flower (the insects love them) and move onto the next patch. I also do a huge sowing of several meters and cut and freeze it for use all winter.
    Since I don't tidy up the seed I find it self seeds as well.
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