Can You Plant Coriander Seeds From The Grocery Store?

on September 23, 2022

Coriander is an extremely popular herb that is added to dishes either as whole seeds, ground seeds, or as fresh leaves. However, if you are someone who really likes coriander you may be wondering how you can grow coriander from seeds purchased in the spice aisle at your local supermarket.

Coriander seeds from the spice isle can be grown readily at home in your garden if planted, however, as the seeds are not intended for use is not horticulture it is difficult to tell the age of the seeds and therefore you may expect the germination rate will be a little bit lower so it is best to plant many more seeds and you need to ensure that you get enough plants.

Coriander seeds germinate fairly easily provided that they have sufficient warmth and moisture to get going. Coriander plants bolt readily in very warm weather it is best to plant them either late winter or late summer which will allow the plants to develop and grow through spring and autumn with the weather is relatively mild.

To delay the plants from bolting it is advisable to plant at least some portion of them in shady locations to avoid the worst of the hot weather. Additionally, to keep the plants from bolting too quickly it is also important to water the plants regularly to ensure that they remain moist as stressed plants will bolt more readily.

Alternatively, there are bolt-resistant varieties of coriander available that will slow the process down somewhat but they will still bolt relatively easily. To see some of the varieties available by visiting seeds now which has a wide range of heirloom variety seeds including bolt-resistant coriander.

Can You Plant Potted Herbs From The Grocery Store?

The other low-cost way to grow coriander at home is to purchase it as a potted herb from your local grocery store. However, herbs that are grown and sold in the supermarkets are generally not designed to live very long and therefore cannot be planted directly in the garden as is or you can expect the herbs to die off very quickly.

The reason for this is that the suppliers of these potted herbs put way too many seeds into the pot which means that the plants are simply too crowded to survive long-term. If you want to make sure that the herbs that you purchase survive you need to split them up to ensure there are no more than 3 or 4 plants in a grouping which can then be transferred directly into the garden.

As mentioned above when selecting a location and which to put coriander or any other leafy herb it is advisable to select a location that is not exposed to the harsh afternoon sun which can lead to the plants drying out very quickly.

When they are first planted in becoming established important to regularly water them and apply a thick layer of mulch which will help to retain moisture added. If you do this the herbs should grow on quite happily and survive allowing you to pick leaves from the plants for many months to come.

To see an example of how the treat herb plants try watching the video below from Charles Dowding where he shows how to look after potted basil plants purchased from the local supermarket. The video provides some great tips on how to pruning affects the quality of the plants over several weeks.

How To Grow Coriander From Seed

Growing coriander plants from seed is relatively easy and can be done by planting either directly into the garden or into a seed tray. My personal preference is to plant into a seed tray because it allows you just start the seeds off earlier in the season when the weather is still relatively cool.

If you are planting coriander seeds in a seed tray start by filling it with good quality seed raising mix and press the soil into the individual cells trays to ensure that firm plugs are created. This is advantageous because it means that when the savings are transplanted it will reduce the level of root disturbance because what plant will come out as an entire plug.

When planting the seeds we recommend planting 2 to 3 seeds per cell to ensure that you get at least one plant coming up in every cell in your seed tray. If you end up having more than one seedling coming up it is advisable to remove the weakest seedlings leaving one seedling in each cell.

Seedlings will typically take approximately 7 to 14 days to appear after you plant the seeds provided that the seed tray is placed in a moderately warm location. During this period is important to ensure that the seeds remain moist to increase the chances of germination.

I have found the most effective way to keep the soil moist is to place a seed tray in a tray containing water which is filled to a depth of approximately half an inch. This will be sufficient to keep the soil moist and it avoids the need to constantly water the seedlings every day as the water usually takes a few days to evaporate before it needs to be replenished.

The seedlings will typically need to spend approximately 6 weeks in the seed tray before they are large enough to plant out into the garden typically at this point they will have reached a height of approximately 3 to 4 inches.

Once the plants a large enough they can be planted out into the garden, but this should only be done once any risk of frost has passed as coriander plants are not particularly frost tolerant and will grow relatively slowly in cold conditions.

When putting the seedlings into the soil is important, as mentioned earlier in the article, to put the plants into semi-shaded locations to reduce the chances of the plants bolting too quickly.

In terms of soil conditions, coriander seedlings generally prefer rich moist, and free-draining soil with plenty of nutrients. If you are unsure about the quality of your soil it is advisable to add an additional bag of compost before putting the plants in.

Once the plants are in the ground it is also important to apply a relatively thick layer of mulch typically 2 to 3 inches thick. At this point and time, it is also recommended that you apply snail bait pallets around the seedlings as they can be susceptible to attack.

Harvesting Coriander Leaves

Coriander leaves can be harvested at any stage once the plant reaches a reasonable size which is typically 6 to 8 inches tall. At this stage, it is important to ensure that when you take the harvest from the plant you do not remove all of the leaves at any one time as this will mean that the plant will take a lot longer to recover.

To maintain a constant supply it is best to have two or three plants at least in your garden so that you always have leaves available. However, you will find that coriander plants don’t last that long and will run see relatively quickly. You can slow this process by removing the flower stalks, however, due to the nature of the plant, you won’t be able to stop it.

To continue to have coriander available in your garden you need to be regularly planting seeds and have new plants that are ready to go. Typically, it is best to replant seeds when your first lot of seedlings have gone out into the garden as this will ensure that you have the next lot of coriander to plant out before the old plants have bolted.

Collecting Coriander Seeds

One advantage of coriander bolting very readily is that you can collect seeds very easily from the plant as they will produce heaps of them throughout the season once the plant flowers. To collect these seeds simply wait until the plant flowers and the heads are beginning to dry out and die back completely. At this point in time, you can simply rip out the entire plant and run your hand over the top of the plant which will remove most of the seeds in one go.

Once the seeds have been removed from the plant they, ideally need to be stored in a dry cool location. They can be used the following year to grow more plants or alternatively, they can be used as herbs and spices in your cooking.