[maxie]

I grow mine in tubs in the greenhouse,never had any problems with it,it must like a bit of heat?
I got into it after eating it in turkey,i have it in omelettes and salads,coriander and rocket gives a salad a bit of flavour,lovely stuff.

[svenrufus]

I picked up some coriander seeds at a seed swap earlier this year, and now realise I don't know what to do with them. My online research is actually confusing me more.

Questions -
When should I sow it - outdoors OK? or indoors and transfer? How - broadcast or individual planting?
I know it is biennial, but I read one site that said it will die below 3C - is that total death or just foliage die-back? Do I need to protect it in the winter?
Apparently I can use the leaves in the first year - will that not slow it's development and reduce growth  in the 2nd year?

Any other advice as well would be grand.

Thanks for any help, always appreciated

[mumofstig]

Hee hee! I have some on the go - will look forward to a taste-off! Fresh coriander is my favourite herb anyway - very excited at the prospect of it being even more amazing.

Isn't taste strange, I don't like coriander at all, it tastes earthy and dusty to me

[barbarella]

I have soaked seeds overnight and then gently crushed them and it is easier to get them to germinate this way.  I think the 'seeds' are actually little seed pods containing several seeds, like chard and that is why you have to treat them this way. 

They are not supposed to like being transplanted - it makes them tend to bolt - but I always start them off in the propagator anyway.

When you dig up the plants which have bolted you get the most amazing coriander aroma from the roots - it makes your mouth water.  Apparently you can use the roots in cooking though I have not tried it.  Does anyone else?

I also leave a few plants to go to seed - you never have to buy any more.

[barbarella]

Someone else has started a similar thread which you can see further up.  I'm sorry I don't know how to do the link but you should be able to find it and it has some quite useful replies.  Hope this helps

[Carol]

I don't have any trouble getting it to germinate planted outdoors in spring/summer - but something always eats it before it reaches a decent size.  So sticking to growing in pots this year!

[oldcow]

Barbarella, the coriander roots are used in Thai cooking. You only need a little bit, but apparently it's an important ingredient to give the right flavour to some Thai dishes. I'm lucky to have a great Thai food store where I live, and if you can find the ingredients here are two fabulous recipes I often use and that include coriander root; they are from a blog from a Thai friend who's now a professional food blogger (she uses the American name for coriander, cilantro):
- Proper Thai green curry (I make it with chicken and small green Thai aubergines): http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/2003/07/green_curry_gan.html. By the way, the picture on that page is wrong, that's not the green curry.
- Thai marinated fried chicken: http://www.chezpim.com/blogs/2008/11/thai-marinated.html. This doesn't have a strong "ethnic" taste; it tastes like a lovely garlicky, crisp tasty fried chicken, and you wouldn't guess that "that extra something" comes from Thai ingredients. Using rice flour instead of normal flour was a revelation, the chicken is crispier and less greasy this way.
I'm going to grow coriander too this year because of these recipes, since I can get the coriander with the roots at the Thai shop, but they only sell big bunches and I only need a bit, and coriander really doesn't keep so I always end up throwing away most of it.

[Swing Swang]

Probably a bit early for corriander IMO

I sow my first between a double row of french beans which I plant out in April and cover with a cloche. The corriander romps away, gets harvested, then gets covered in a mulch to conserve soil moisture for the beans. More conventional successional sowing keep me going for the rest of the season.
Would strongly disagree about the comments on shop-bought seed as this works well if you want corriander seeds, however if you want leaf corriander the you're better off buying the more expensive stuff from the seed suppliers.
Another comment that I would make is that corriander changes taste as the leaves change - so don't let the plants get all 'ferny', pick them whilst they still look like flat-leaved parsley.

SS

[barbarella]

Barbarella, the coriander roots are used in Thai cooking. You only need a little bit, but apparently it's an important ingredient to give the right flavour to some Thai dishes.

Thanks for that - we are visiting family in Oz at the moment but I will getting the wok out asap

[Jonajo]

I grow them in smallish pots - about the size they sell them at the supermarket in their "pick and grow" pots.

I put about 10 seeds per pot, usually doing about 4 or 5 pots about a couple of weeks apart and off they go.

I sow about this time and normally have enough to keep me going through to the start of winter, watering as it needs.

The trick is to keep using it once it gets bushy - otherwise it just messes up!

It also freezes wonderfully - just throw a handful into a bag and pop in the freezer; and use straight from freezer into curries or soup.

[Trillium]

MoS, you and I must start a club - I detest the taste of coriander, but I plan to grow a small row of it for the bees who love the flowers.

[tosca100]

MoS, you and I must start a club - I detest the taste of coriander, but I plan to grow a small row of it for the bees who love the flowers.

I just don't understand it. Whenever I've been to our award winning local Indian, everything I fancy seems to have coriander in it, and if it doesn't, it has a sprinkling on top. I find it so overpowering it seems to mask other flavours. It must not agree with me or something!

[Trillium]

That's what I find. Most of the foods with it here are Mexican dishes, and even just a tiny bit of it numbs my tastebuds for over a day. All I can taste is the coriander (cilantro as it's known here). YUK YUK YUK!

[kermit]

Grew half a row in our heavily shaded raised bed late spring last year.  All came up and had strong, tall, heavy crop all the way through summer.  Kept well wattered and part shade meant it didnt bolt either.  Will be doing the same this year.  Tried an optimistic sowing yesterday, but so cold, probably a waste of seed...

Dont understand the taste thing - obvious personal, but I dont find that the taste stays with me.

[Cazzy]

I love it  except in salad

Didn't have great success growing it in a pot last year,  it bolted really quickly and as another poster said, the bigger leaves don't taste the same and quite tough.

This year I think i'll try Jonajo's method using small pots in the green house for leaf and maybe a row outside for seed.

I planned on using seed from an asian supermarket for both but now I'm not sure