Coriander can be used for many different things. You can harvest the leaves, and add them to your dishes or you can get the coriander seeds, which have the flavor of citrus lemon when crushed, or harvest the roots, mainly used in Asian cuisine for their intense flavor. No matter which way you go, there is no doubt that the cilantro should be part of your garden.
Growing seeds indoors meant to be planted outdoors won’t succeed. The reason is that cilantro does not transplant well, so any growth you have in the room is more than likely to be lost if you move out. Start the seeds on the outside, at least one week after the final gel. Then, you can plant cilantro every 3 weeks until the week before the first fall frost. This will give you a steady stream of fresh coriander for a year.
Coriander seeds take about 10 days to germinate, and grow well in full sun with moderate watering; the soil has to be with a pH of not less than 6.0, but not exceeding 7.0. To check the pH level of your soil, test using the home soil testing kit which can be bought at a garden center or online for just a couple of dollars. Upon receipt of your reading, follow the instructions on the package to increase or decrease soil pH as needed for optimal cilantro growing.
When the plant is eight inches tall, it is ready to be collected. You might want to harvest the entire plant. If you want to use the seeds of the plant, just let it grow until it goes to seed, then harvest the whole plant. Once the entire plant is collected, you can use the roots, leaves and seeds (if you let these grow long) for different dishes. As you can see, the addition of this plant to your garden at home is easier than you think. Have one growing in your garden today. Also think about growing potatoes in containers.