Hands on - Coriander

If you want a good leaf crop you need to inhibit flowering as much as possible, but this is really difficult as so many grow. One consolation is that flowers taste fantastic too. Try them in vegetable dishes and to flavour your own oils. The seeds of coriander can also be eaten, though it’s unlikely that indoor plants will give you a big seed crop. Coriander plants are good to have in your garden as they deter greenflies.

Planting

Coriander plants can be grown from seeds. You can get these all over – in garden centres, DIY stores and supermarkets. In the spring, plant several seeds in 15cm wide pots. Keep the soil or compost in the pots nice and moist. In about 9 days shoots will start to poke out of the soil. As the plants grow, pull out the weedier-looking ones until you are left with about 3 plants per pot. This will give them room to flourish.

Looking after

Photograph of coriander plant being watered

Once the plants have grown they usually thrive well. Be careful, though, as they love the sun almost too much. In bright, warm sunshine indoor plants eagerly bolt. Before you know it, your plants will have grown tall and lanky with lots of flowers. They are left with no energy to produce a continuous crop of tender, succulent leaves. Stop this from happening by placing the plant in a shady place and keep the pots well watered. Keep nicking away any flowers with your fingers.