»How To Grow Coriander From Seed«
Coriander, dhaniya or cilantro is used everyday in indian cuisine to spice up food and this makes it a must grow in every kitchen garden.
Coriander qualifies to grow in any kitchen garden since it is easy to grow and you can get its yield at a very early stage. To grow coriander, first understand which soil is suitable for its growth. You can use soil like potting mixture, multi purpose soil or coco peat if you plan to grow coriander on the ground. The suitable soil is loamy soil but if you choose to grow coriander in pots, then you can use multi purpose soil like potting mixture or coco peat. Coriander plants are not good for transplanting so choose a container that is big enough to grow many plants so as to grow many rows of coriander.
Sowing
Coriander seed is technically a fruit containing two seeds. Each of them will grow into a coriander plant. The fruit can be sown whole or split. When split, it increases the germination rate. When sowing the seeds, soak them in water for 12 hours. This helps the seeds to germinate faster.
Ensure that when the seeds start germinating, they receive a good amount of sunlight which enables them to grow vigorously.
Requirements
Keep the coriander soil moist by watering after every 10 days. Coriander seeds start germinating after 5 to 7 days after sowing.
When growing in containers, ensure that the spacing is 15 to 20cm apart. After 4 weeks, the coriander plants have enough leaves and can be harvested.
Pests and diseases
The most common disease in coriander is bacterial leaf spot. Its symptoms are visible as a small water stock spots between leaves which enlarges and turns dark brown.
This disease is transmitted through infected seeds and spread by splash irrigation. The best way to avoid this disease is to plant pathogen free seed and avoid overhead irrigation. For good germination, treat your seeds with fungicides prior to planting to eliminate fungal pathogens.
