Topic: Coriander growth

[George]

I've tried growing coriander from seed with less than great success. Even though the seed type is advertised as 'for leaves', the results have not been very good.

By far my best results have just come from re-potting a small coriander plant bought from Morrisons for 59p. Many supermarkets do them, in the 'living herbs' product category.

Anyway, I transferred the 59p plant into a larger flower-pot filled with good quality soil. John Innes soil might be a good alternative. The plant has quickly grown to four or five times the original size with four or five times the leaf volume which could be useful for cooking. It could still grow even larger. I have also removed quite a lot of leaves for cooking and the plant just keeps growing back.

I placed a deep saucer under the flower pot and keep it topped up with water which has dilute feed dissolved in it. The plant is outside in the garden in full sun.

Warning - success is not guaranteed. I thought I used the same approach for a second plant and it died after a few days, perhaps because I put it in the sun before it had become established in the new soil.

Regards
George

[snowdog]

A few years ago now, I sowed a whole patch of our garden with Rajah coriander seeds.

It grew incredibly well - the plants were well above knee height.

The only problem is you have to use it quickly. So you need to be sowing it all the time you are using it.

When making curries, you use so much of it that those little windowsill pots are woefully too little, and growing it from scratch in the quantities you need is a major project.

So I gave up! I just buy it three bunches for ?1 from the local Asian hypermarket

[George]

snowdog

I can relate to several of your points.

1. I often wondered about sowing coriander seeds from spice packs rather than garden seed packs. Now I know!

2. Frequent sowing was also a factor in my attempts to grow it from seed, yet there never seemed enough leaves.

3. My nearest source of large bundles of Coriander is too far away, hence my interest in (effectivley) turning a small sample from Morrisons into a large bundle like I could buy from an Asian supermarket.

Regards
George

[snowdog]

If you can make a trip every now and then, it freezes reasonably well. It isn't exactly the same as using it fresh, but it is a perfectly acceptable alternative in the absence of anything else.

I always try to use fresh when I can, but even if you do have a source locally, you still can't get it at a moment's notice unless they're right next door to you!

What I do is chop the bunches up, put it in bags, and freeze it. You just throw it in frozen and you get the flavour you need.

[Ashes]

Rightio, this is an excellent tip i learnt recently. Save the water you get from washing your basmati rice, it starchy and full of vitamins minerals and chucky goodness, plants love it and will grow like wild.

Snowdog is right about freezing in the coriander. I usually cut the plant off at root level, chop up the stalks and place them in plastic bag which is half full of air and seal the bag. This will stop it pulping together, pop it in the freezer. Same goes for the leaves, the  only other difference between fresh and frozen is that the frozen leaves tend to get a little wet when they have defrosted, just get a handful and stick them in a curry and you wont notice the difference.

[Fat Les (Banned for removing own posts!)]

Hi guys,

I've never had a great deal of success growing fresh coriander....either from seeds or from pre-potted plants, or when located inside or outside the house, etc, etc.  I 've always found that they thrive for some weeks, but then deteriorate....hmm..maybe I should feed them a little more perhaps!  

Unfortunately, I find that fresh coriander doesn't freeze at all well!  .  It seems to me to develop a very bitter taste and come out as a dark green mush!  Personally, if I haven't got any fresh coriander (indispensible) I would rather do without!.......I wouldn't recommend frozen coriander to anybody! ....but each to their own I guess

[haldi]

The best coriander is in the shops now
It has a lovely aroma that the winter stuff hasn't got
The winter coriander comes mainly from Cyprus and it is inferior
A lot of our summer coriander is actually grown in England

[Ashes]

Les the stalks can have a bitter taste and need to cooked longer, if you leave some air in the bag the chopped coriander can be shaken a little after you freeze it, that will help it from getting mushy. Remember not to leave the bag out when you use it as it defrosts quickly.

Its not the best way but for those who find it hard to get coriander and dont have a fresh supply to hand it works well.

[George]

The best coriander is in the shops now
It has a lovely aroma that the winter stuff hasn't got
The winter coriander comes mainly from Cyprus and it is inferior
A lot of our summer coriander is actually grown in England

Haldi

Thank you for this tip. I know the enormous difference between the taste of home-grown and import carrots, strawberries and other fruits and vegetables, so I can believe it also applies to coriander.

Snowdog, Les, Ashes

I will try freezing some of my coriander, at least  for use in the 'middle' of cooking curry sauces. This should limit the need for crisp, fresh coriander for use as a garnish.

Do try re-potting coriander, though, as I first suggested. Photo to follow, in a couple of days...

Regards
George

[traveller]

I am a strong supporter of freezing coriander.  I live an hour from the closest indian community so I dont make it there very often.  I bring home the fresh coriander, wash it well (after chopping off the roots and picking through it all) and let it air dry for 1-2 days.  I dry it on paper towels and get rid of all the water from washing it.  Then I chop it and put it into a freezer ziploc bag without excess air.  This frozen corainder keeps well for months literally.  You just have it remove it from the freezer and quickly take out what you need and return it back to the freezer.  The flavor is not as strong as fresh but you do get some fresh coriander flavor.