Description
Key Facts
- Ideal for recipes like Thai soups, curries, etc.
- Easy to grow
- Takes about 1 to 2 months to grow
- Available from Amazon
Background
Coriander root, sometimes called cilantro root or dhania
- Originally from the southern Europe, North Africa and Southwest Asia.
- More intense flavour than the leaves
- Ideal for cooking spicy Thai dishes.
- Days from seed to harvest – about 40 to 50 (1 to 2 months)
- About 30 to 60 cm high
Example Coriander root recipes
When you grow the coriander herb (or cilantro) you will be growing one of the most popular herbs in the world – used in many different recipes.
There are 3 types root, seed and leaf coriander.
This variety (when you grow it for its roots) is known as dhania in Indian and Cilantro in the USA and is most often used when cooking Indian curries, Thai Soups, etc. ,
Typical recipes:
How to grow coriander root at home
Coriander root plants are quite tricky to grow but
The roots taste great and are well worth the effort,
But only the newer younger roots – large roots from older plants are not very nice (tough and bitter). Which is why hydroponic or aquaponic will be great when growing coriander for it’s roots.
- Fill your container, pot, etc. with soil.
- Pick out any cracked or irregular cilantro seeds
- Gently push the seeds into the dirt and cover the seeds with a layer of dirt.
- Keep the soil moist and expect to see seed germination around 7 days after planting
- Within 5-7 days, under the soil the cilantro should have a white sprout coming out of the seed. You can check by gently uncovering the soil with your fingers and exposing the seed.
- After a further 2-3 days, you should see a green sprout pushing through the soil. A green sprout should be visibly coming out of the seed.
- The soil should always be wet but allow the soil to dry out before watering. This will help keep mould and diseases away from the seedling.
- The seedling should have full sun for a few hours. The seedling should not have more than 4/5 hours of full sunlight or it can wilt and die.
- Cilantro seedlings can be grown together – about 1/2 inch apart.
- If plants are growing slower than usual, aphids could be the cause.
Tips
Grow cilantro near plants like basil, herbs, garlic, onions to keep aphids away
Cilantro seeds will only germinate if the soil is always moist
If some of the cilantro seeds do not sprout, don’t worry if you leave them in the dirt they will eventually sprout on their own.
Minze Vries –
This is a herb well worth growing – the flavour is absolute fantastic