Coriandrum sativum
Coriander, Arabic parsley, Chinese parsley, cilantro: few plants are so divisive. Some people perceive its leaves as soapy — a very real genetic trait linked to an olfactory receptor. For everyone else, it has an irreplaceable aroma. And here’s something curious: its seeds taste nothing like its leaves; they are warm and citrusy.
Characteristics:
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Two spices in one: fresh, herbaceous leaves; warm, citrusy dried seeds.
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Fast-growing annual: first harvest of leaves three to four weeks after sowing.
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Easy to grow: from sowing to harvest, it requires almost no care.
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Self-seeds once established in the garden.
Sowing advice:
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Position: sunny, or partial shade in midsummer to delay bolting.
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Soil: light, well-drained, and kept moist. It does not need rich soil, but soil that dries out will make it flower immediately.
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Method: sow directly in place — its taproot tolerates transplanting very poorly, which is the most common cause of failure. From April in the South, and May in the northern half, at a depth of 1 cm. Possible in a heated greenhouse from February–March. See how to sow your seeds.
Care advice:
- Thin to 15 cm apart. Water regularly to delay flowering.
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The decisive tip: stagger sowings every three weeks. Coriander bolts quickly whatever you do — it is better to renew it than fight it.
Harvest advice:
- Pick the young leaves, taking the outer stems. They can be frozen, but should not be dried: they lose all their aroma.
- For the seeds, cut the flower heads when they turn brown, before the seeds fall, and finish drying them under cover. Their fragrance improves after a few weeks of storage.
Beneficial pairings:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its tendency to bolt, often seen as a failure, is actually a boon: its pinkish-white flower heads attract large numbers of hoverflies, parasitic wasps, and ladybirds, all predators of aphids. Deliberately let a few plants flower.
- Like all plants in the carrot family, it is a host plant for swallowtail caterpillars.
Uses:
- Fresh leaves added after cooking: Mexican, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Moroccan cuisines. Roasted and ground seeds in curries, marinades, cured meats, and gingerbread.
- A traditional medicinal plant, and one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. See our medicinal plants to sow.
Harvesting your own seeds:
This is the harvest itself: let a few flower heads ripen completely and dry them upside down in a paper bag. Some can be used in the kitchen, and the rest for the next sowing. See how to save your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Volcans d'Auvergne, we choose open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties, test them for germination rates, and carefully sort and package them without any chemical treatment. Our belief: to restore gardeners' ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
One plant, two spices, and a magnet for beneficial insects when allowed to flower.
