Cilantro or its second name coriander is a spicy annual plant, which is successfully used in cooking as a seasoning for fish, meat, salads, etc. Due to its high content of vitamin C and minerals, this spice is also used in folk medicine, as an excellent diuretic and antiseptic. Dry seeds of this herbaceous plant It is customary to call coriander, and its greens, regardless of whether it is fresh or dried, are called cilantro.
In the dachas and gardens of residents middle zone In Russia, you can most often find the following varieties of coriander planted in the ground:
- Amber;
- Long Stand RS;
- Alekseevsky 190;
- Caribe 215;
- Chilantro.
The dry seeds of this herbaceous plant are commonly called coriander.
There are other varieties. They differ from each other in the duration of ripening, stemming time, and also taste qualities and content useful substances. Sowing and caring for them will be the same.
They all grow well in light, pre-fertilized soils and can also be planted in sand. They do not require the creation of certain conditions for them.
Despite the fact that cilantro in our latitudes is considered exotic plant, it grows well not only in the country, but also on the balcony and even on the window. This makes it possible for those who do not have a garden plot to use its fresh herbs all year round. But it is best, of course, to sow this spicy herb in open ground, which must be properly prepared beforehand.
Light soils with a low alkaline environment are excellent for planting coriander seeds:
- sandy loam;
- loamy.
A bed for growing coriander is prepared in the fall
It would be great if, before planting this spice, other garden herbs grew in this place, for example. The soil will need to be dug up and fertilized well, using sand, humus and fresh soil for this purpose. wood ash. Concerning optimal location For growing coriander, hills or plains located in the sun or partial shade are well suited for this. Sowing this plant in a low area increases the risk that it will become wet before it has time to ripen.
A bed for growing coriander is prepared in the fall, clearing the soil of the previous harvest and additionally fertilizing the soil with potassium salt. This will be the preliminary care of her. And you need to plant this garden grass in early spring, when the soil is well moistened by melting snow and the first spring rains. Before planting, the soil needs to be loosened and fed again. organic fertilizers and water thoroughly if necessary.
Before sending them for sowing, it is recommended to soak the seeds in aloe juice for better germination. Cilantro should be sown in rows, placing them at a distance of 15 cm from each other, as shown in the photo. You need to deepen coriander seeds into the ground by about 2 cm with a distance of 10 cm, consumption per 1 sq. m will be about 3 grams. Detailed video crops can be found on the Internet.
Video review of seeds
An excellent option would be to plant the beds with this herb one at a time. First plant one, after two weeks - the second, after another 2 weeks - the third. This will allow within one summer season Harvest cilantro several times and always have fresh herbs on the table.
Cilantro, just like leafy, petiole and other garden greens, needs regular but not complicated care. There are several videos on the Internet dedicated to this. Namely:
- weed removal;
- loosening the soil,
- timely watering.
Watering is especially important in dry summers - due to lack of moisture, the plant may not form a rosette and shoot arrows. For early harvest Coriander can be planted in a greenhouse, hotbed, or simply under a film.
Caring for newly sprouted coriander seeds should be more careful than for adult plants. They appear above the soil surface usually 2 - 3 weeks after they were sown. During this period, it is important to promptly remove weeds that can destroy their fragile stems. And after they grow by about 5 cm, they can be additionally fed using nitrogen fertilizer. But before this, it is advisable to thin out the bed, removing weak shoots. By the way, they can already be used for food.
Caring for newly sprouted coriander seeds should be more careful
When the young cilantro is fed, you can scatter mulch over the bed with it, this will prevent the growth of weeds and retain moisture in the ground. This is the whole point of care, to learn the intricacies of which you can watch the video.
If this spicy herb is grown for greens, then it should be prevented from flowering by promptly cutting off the established buds. If the plant is grown for coriander seeds, then, on the contrary, early flowering It will only work to your advantage.
Cilantro is considered a long-growing garden herb. daylight hours. As it decreases, its intensive growth will slow down. Therefore, those who plan to grow this spice for greens are advised to plant it as late as possible.
At the end of July, August and beginning of September, flower stalks practically do not form on it, and the greenery, on the contrary, grows very wildly. June is a great time to collect seeds. Accordingly, the coriander bed should be planted in early spring. Caring for it will be a little more difficult, but the result is worth it.
Video about how to sow before winter
Harvesting
As mentioned above, having planted on his personal plot This spice can be counted on both for harvesting herbs and for harvesting seeds. Both are used in cooking as aromatic seasoning. Greens from the garden with proper and timely landing this garden grass can be collected several times in one season, similar to how it happens. To do this, you need to cut off its green part when its growth stops, but the flower stalks have not yet set. This usually happens when the length of the stems reaches 20 cm. Then the cut crop should be washed, sorted, dried and disassembled into bunches.
And to collect the seeds, you should first wait until they, as shown in the photo, take on a brown tint, and then cut the stems at the root, tie them into bunches and hang them on an oilcloth spread underneath them. As a result, the seeds fall off and all that remains is to collect them in a dry jar, where they will be stored. They do not need additional care.
I have been growing greens for a long time because I like to add them to different dishes. This year I decided to expand the range and try to get a cilantro harvest. Tell me how to plant cilantro correctly?
Cilantro is an annual spicy plant, the greens and seeds of which are used for cooking as a seasoning. The plant is absolutely unpretentious in care, so growing it yourself will not be difficult. special problems. You can plant cilantro both in open ground beds and in pots for growing on a windowsill.
Growing cilantro in open ground
To grow spices in the garden, set aside an area well lit by the sun. In a shady place, the bushes will become very elongated and will not be able to grow lush. green mass. In addition, the beds should be located on level ground where water does not stagnate.
Cilantro, like many crops, loves loose nutritious soil. If necessary, the area allocated for the beds is fertilized. This can be done both in the fall and before sowing the seeds:
- in the fall, humus is added at the rate of half a bucket of fertilizer per 1 sq.m.;
- fertilize in spring mineral mixture 30 g per 1 sq.m.
They start planting cilantro in April. In order to have fresh greens until autumn, they make repeat crops at intervals of 2 weeks. Seeds are sown in 2-3 pieces at a distance of 10 cm from each other, the row spacing should be at least 15 cm. This will make it easier to care for the plant, and the bushes will have enough space to grow.
Since cilantro has large seeds with a fairly strong shell, they need to be sown shallowly - about 2 cm. The seeds do not need pre-soaking; it is enough to water the beds well before sowing.
Further care for cilantro plantings includes:
- regular 2 times a week;
- thinning the seedlings as soon as they grow to 3 cm in height;
- loosening the soil;
- removing weeds.
Greens for eating should be cut before flowering, as they will then become bitter. Seed collection begins at the end of summer and is collected in several stages as they ripen.
Growing cilantro on a windowsill
Cilantro lovers who do not have the opportunity to grow it in garden beds can sow the seeds in pots and grow the spice on the windowsill. In this case, sowing is done in March. In long planting containers, the seeds are laid out at a distance of 5 cm; when planting in separate small pots or plastic glasses, 2 seeds are sown in one container.
Water the sown seeds or spray them well with water from a spray bottle and cover on top. cling film for creating greenhouse conditions. When the first sprouts appear, remove the film. Care in pots consists of watering and loosening the soil.
Cilantro seedlings are very demanding on lighting. Since daylight hours are still very short in early spring, to obtain lush greenery seedlings must be additionally illuminated.
Many gardeners use young cilantro seedlings grown on a windowsill as seedlings for planting in garden beds. This allows you to get the harvest much earlier.
How to plant cilantro for growing on a windowsill - video
A green vegetable garden right in the kitchen is not just an interior decoration. This is an opportunity to consume vitamins all year round and diversify your diet with flavor additives. Moreover, in this way you can grow a wide variety of greens. The article will discuss growing cilantro (coriander) from seeds at home, that is, indoors, on your own windowsill. Relevant photographs are attached.
What kind of plant is this - cilantro?
Cilantro is an annual plant from the Apiaceae family, the leaves and seeds of which are used in cooking as a spice. Although botanists call it Coriandrum sativum, in some countries only the fruit is called coriander.
The plant came to us from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, where it began to be eaten about 5 thousand years ago. Nowadays it is one of the most famous herbs, found in the garden beds of lovers. Special place Coriander is prominent in Caucasian cuisine - here greens and fruits are added to almost every dish.
The plant looks like this:
- The stem is highly branched. Its height is up to 50 cm.
- The plant has two types of leaves. At the bottom they are solid, with small teeth along the edge, and at the top they are segmented.
- Coriander inflorescences have the shape of an umbrella. The flowers are white or pink.
Cilantro can be grown on a windowsill all year round
All parts of the plant contain essential oils Therefore, cilantro has a very strong aroma, reminiscent of the smell of a famous insect - the bug.
In addition to cooking, cilantro has long been recommended for use in medicinal purposes. Regular consumption of it in food corrects some deficiencies in the gastrointestinal tract, normalizes kidney function in case of minor deviations, and helps the body cleanse itself of toxins. With all the described advantages, coriander is absolutely not difficult to grow at home all year round. In the summer in the garden, and in the winter - on the windowsill, as a potted crop.
Things to take care of before landing
Considering the fact that coriander does not tolerate transplants very well, and root system It is of decent size; the seeds must be sown immediately in a pot of suitable size. A rectangular clay container with a depth of at least 30 cm is perfect for this. Moreover, it should be without enamel. This will allow air to penetrate through the porous walls to the roots.
Attention! A container intended for planting cilantro must have holes at the bottom for drainage excess water. Coriander does not tolerate its stagnation.
For planting in a pot, a ready-made substrate from the store is suitable. If you can’t purchase it, you can make soil for cilantro yourself. Includes:
- garden soil;
- humus;
- ash.
Cilantro seeds
The first components are mixed in a ratio of 2:1, after which 2-3 tbsp are added. ash per 1 kg of substrate.
Advice. It is better to bake the soil well in the oven before planting. This will prevent the development of diseases.
It is worth taking care about the further location of the pot, because cilantro really loves light. In the shade, its stems become very elongated and fewer leaves grow on them. Therefore, for the period short day the plant needs additional lighting. The lack of light is compensated with the help of fluorescent or special phyto lamps.
The air temperature in the room where coriander is grown should not fall below +15°C, because the plant comes from warm regions and stops growing and developing in cooler air.
How to sow coriander and care for it
To be able to obtain greens year-round, you should sow cilantro in different terms. Considering that greens can be cut a month after planting, making a plan for regular sowing is very simple. It is very easy to collect seed material yourself, but if this is not possible, it can be purchased at the store.
Attention! Seeds are stored for 2 years. Subsequently, their germination capacity is lost.
Sowing coriander is done as follows:
Grow cilantro in specially prepared soil
- To swell the shell and, accordingly, better germination, the seeds are soaked in water for a couple of hours before sowing.
- In a container with soil, make grooves 1.5 cm deep.
- Seeds are sown sparsely. They are sprinkled with earth on top and lightly compacted.
- Moisten the earth (preferably with a spray bottle).
- The container with the crops is placed in a warm place.
- Before the first shoots appear, it is covered with transparent material.
Cilantro germinates in 1.5-2 weeks. After the sprouts appear, the container is placed on the windowsill and the cover is removed. Caring for cilantro is not at all difficult. It includes the following works:
- watering;
- thinning;
- fertilizing
Water the plantings with coriander abundantly, after which you must drain the water from the pan. To prevent the leaves from drying out, the plant is periodically sprayed. Thickening of plantings is unacceptable. In this case, the bushes will turn out weak and will not be able to grow green mass in the right quantity. It is best to maintain a 10 cm interval between plants. Excess sprouts should be removed.
Advice. It is better to pinch off the emerging flower stalks. This way you can get significantly more leaves.
Fertilizer is applied 2 times a week. Cilantro requires fertilizing containing a complex of minerals.
Harvest and storage
It is advisable to cut the leaves from coriander immediately before use. You can start doing this after 5-6 leaves appear on the plant. During flowering, the stems thicken and the quality of the greenery deteriorates, so if there is no goal to grow seeds, it is better to remove the flower stalks immediately.
Greens can be dried or frozen
The soil can be reused after cultivation. To do this, the remaining roots are removed from it, then calcined in the oven for disinfection and a little humus is added. After moistening, re-sow the cilantro.
For long-term storage The leaves of the plant can be frozen and dried. In the first case, you will need to rinse them well, dry them, and place them in plastic bag and put it in the freezer.
If you want to dry coriander greens, the entire plant, at the root, is cut off and kept at room temperature. After complete drying, it is crushed and placed in a hermetically sealed container. This seasoning can be stored for about 2 years.
In the country
First of all, to grow coriander you need to choose the most suitable place for this plant. Do not plant seeds in drafts. Therefore, it is advisable to plant them in a sunny area, well protected from the winds.
At the same time, it is also not recommended to grow coriander in the shade of trees or tall plants. It is also desirable that this area be flat or on a slight hill. The reason is that growing such a plant in the lowlands will have a very negative impact on this process.
The soil for growing such a spice must have sufficient nutritional value, be loose and regularly fertilized. The latter are introduced into it during the digging of the site.
For this, for 1 sq. m must be added to the soil:
½ bucket of humus;
a small amount of fresh wood ash.
As for the cases when it is preferable for you to use mineral fertilizers, it is recommended to carry out this kind of fertilizing in advance. Even before planting coriander seeds, the soil must be saturated with these fertilizers, per 1 square meter. m of soil up to 30 g.
Planting and growing this crop, carried out in open ground, is possible as long as the weather is warm outside. However, no special agrotechnical knowledge necessary for this process is required. Most often, cilantro, due to self-seeding, reproduces on its own.
You can sow its seeds using any scheme. So, you first need to moisten the area, and then start planting either in rows or scattered. After this, sprinkle a thin layer of earth on top.
After the first sunrises appear, thinning is carried out. To do this, it is necessary to remove the weak sprouts, leaving only the strongest ones to get spice from them. It is important that the distance between them is approximately 6 cm.
At home
To start growing coriander in a residential area, you need to start this process of preparing seedlings, and after sowing the seeds. It is best to do this in a large container and no later than mid-March.
So, it is recommended to plant them in boxes according to a certaintechnologiesso that the distance between the bushes is at least 6 cm. If the seeds are planted in different pots, then each should contain no more than 2 pieces. At the same time, it would be most optimal to plant them at a depth of 2 cm. Due to the fact that coriander seeds are very large in size, this simplifies the whole process.
After this, the containers in which the future greens are located need to be covered with film, and if planting takes place in pots, then they can be placed in a regular plastic bag. This will help create a greenhouse effect. After the cotyledon leaves begin to appear on the seedlings, the whip can be removed.
Also, for indoor growing This seed crop needs to be equipped with lighting. Additional equipped lighting in the form of a daylight paw is well suited for this. If you provide the seedlings with appropriate conditions, you can get the first greens that can be used for food after only 3 weeks from the moment of sowing.
Do you know that: The Borodino variety of coriander is the most popular among those used in our country.
In the greenhouse
It is also possible to grow coriander in a greenhouse. It is important to start planting seeds at the end of February or early March.
After just 21 days, you can begin to collect the first spicy herbs, and flower stalks will appear in about 40 days. However, if more late landing, around May, then in this case the flower stalks will appear after only 20 days.
It is advisable to carry out the landing according to a certain pattern. For example, the distance between the bushes should be in the range from 9 to 11 cm, and between the rows up to 30 cm. In this case, it will be easier to care for the plant and there will be enough space for the greenery to develop.
How to care
To get spicy cilantro as quickly as possible, you need to regularly water the plants. Usually several times a week is enough. The standard watering rate is up to 5 liters clean water per 1 sq. m.
The most important thing is to water the grass that is just sprouting during the growing season, which will allow it to gain weight faster. After the fruits appear, the amount of watering must be reduced to a level of 3 liters.
Gardener's advice: for getting maximum quantity For the green harvest, cilantro is planted in several stages, with an interval of about 10 days.
In cases where it is not possible for some reason to regularly water the garden bed, it is worth using mulching. By tightly mulching the soil, it is possible to ensure that moisture remains in the soil for a longer period of time.
It is also worth considering that this culture is very light-loving, precisely because of this, in order to obtain a spice with a rich taste and aroma and seeds highest quality, planting should be carried out in a sunny area.
If coriander is grown indoors, caring for it will be much easier. In this case, it will be enough to regularly water a little and create additional lighting, as was previously written about.
Harvesting
You can start collecting the first harvest, in the form of leaves, when the growth of coriander has almost stopped, but flowering has not yet begun. It is very difficult to properly harvest green crops in a timely manner. However, from the advice experienced gardeners, it is advisable to trim the foliage when the height of the bush reaches more than 20 cm.
The fruits must be cut early in the morning using a sharp knife. After this, they need to be washed and dried. Fruits should be stored in dried, airtight containers.
In general, grow coriander in any of possible options, is not such a complicated process. Therefore, if you are a lover of exotic spices, you should try to start getting this seasoning yourself.
Watch the video in which you will find many useful tips about what is the best place to plant coriander, what is the best way to fertilize it, how to properly care for this plant and get maximum yield all year round:
