How to grow coriander in winter on a windowsill from seeds at home

Fresh herbs are always in demand. Its deficiency is especially acute in winter. Summer residents found a way out by growing coriander on the windowsill. How to grow cilantro correctlybeginner gardeners think about which variety to choose for planting. It is necessary to create the right conditions for home growing in order to get a quality crop.

What it is

Many summer residents know this greenery firsthand. But all people are divided into 2 categories, some love cilantro, others do not even tolerate its smell. Believing that she smells like beetles.

Coriander has been used for a long time, scientists have found mention of the use of cilantro in Egyptian writings. A useful plant, distributed on many continents. In some countries, it is even considered a weed. It is used in cooking, medicine, cosmetology and other fields.

Coriander, or cilantro, is an annual plant with a strong odor. It has several names, but this does not diminish the benefits of its use for the human body. Cilantro grows from seeds that remain in the ground for the winter or planted in the spring.

As a seasoning, coriander seeds are crushed and added to food a few minutes before cooking ends. There are other properties of the plant, which will be described below.

Harm and benefit

Coriander has a lot of useful properties, but there are also contraindications. You should familiarize yourself with them before deciding to grow cilantro at home.

Pros:

• Woman and coriander. Cilantro stimulates the synthesis of estrogen. Helps fight depression. Masks with its use improve skin condition, including eliminating flaking.
• Effects on the gastrointestinal tract. Normalization of appetite, removal of bacteria, improvement of the digestion process.
• Increased male strength. Cilantro increases potency, contains a natural hormone. Helps relieve prostatitis symptoms.
• Strengthening bone tissue.
• Diuretic effect.
• Cleansing the body as a whole.
• Cilantro makes it easier for the heart.
• Helps the secretion of bile.

And much more, the benefits of coriander are hard to overestimate. But besides the positive qualities, there are also negative ones. properties of cilantro:

• Cilantro should not be consumed by pregnant women and during lactation.
• Do not use coriander for people with thrombophlebitis, cholecystitis.
• Use cilantro with extreme caution for people who have suffered a heart attack and stroke.
• Refrain from people suffering from diabetes mellitus and gastritis with high acidity.

Cilantro has been famous for its healing properties for a long time.But you should use it carefully so as not to harm the body.

Growing from seeds

The easiest way to grow cilantro in an apartment in winter is from seeds. You just need to comply with one requirement, sow the plant immediately in the pot in which it will grow. Coriander does not tolerate transplants, the plant takes root, but its growth and development slows down significantly.

Pot and soil

The container for growing cilantro at home should be deep and wide. The root system of coriander requires a lot of space because it has long roots. The width of the pot is 45 cm, the height is 30 cm. In such a container, cilantro feels great.

Coriander requires loose, organic-rich soil for proper growth and development. If necessary, purchase ready-made soil in the store. Alternatively, mixing it 50 x 50 with soil from the site.

If you make a nutritional composition for planting cilantro yourself, you should mix:

• 1 part of sod land;
• 1 part of humus;
• 0.5 parts of sand.

Do not forget about good drainage for coriander, broken expanded clay, brick or crushed stone will do, their absence is replenished with pieces of foam.

For disinfection, a few days before planting cilantro, the pot is poured with boiling water with potassium permanganate or 1 tbsp. l. wood ash.

Seed preparation

Coriander is purchased only in specialized stores. They sell quality seeds that are guaranteed to germinate. They must be fresh, 1 year or maximum 2, later cilantro will not sprout. It is undesirable to buy in grocery stores, as the coriander is heat-treated. By observing these requirements, you can grow excellent greens on the windowsill.

Take a look also

Useful properties and contraindications of cilantro for the human body

When planting, divide the cilantro in half. So it will sprout faster.

Varieties for cultivation

The choice of coriander variety plays an important role. A properly selected species will yield a crop and provide greenery for the entire winter. Cilantro on the windowsill grows subject to simple requirements, fulfilling which, they receive the declared harvest:

1. Stimulus. Cilantro bushes are compact, height 25-30 cm. The color of the leaves is dark green. Ripens in 2 months.
2. The king of the market. The peculiarity of the variety is its undemandingness to heat. A lot of greens, ripens in 35-45 days.
3. Amber. Semi-spreading bushes. The color of cilantro leaves is dark green. Ripens in 45-50 days.
4. Vanguard. Large yield of greenery. Has a high immunity to disease. The aroma is strong and persistent.
5. Petrusha the gardener. The foliage is tender and juicy, of a light shade. The bushes are ordinary. Ripens in a month.
6. Alekseevsky. Cilantro is resistant to temperature drops. Bushes are erect and compact. Ripens within 35 days.
7. Oriental flavor. Plant height 60 cm, many leaves. Light green color. The peculiarity of the cilantro variety is its strong spicy aroma. Ready for use within 35-45 days.
8. Santo. The height of the coriander bushes is 60 cm, the size of the leaves is medium. It matures in 50 days.

Whatever the characteristics of the cilantro varieties, the best are determined by the gardeners themselves. The yield of coriander directly depends on the care of the crop.

Sowing

To grow cilantro on a windowsill, you need to plant the seeds correctly. For this it is necessary to fulfill a number of requirements.

How to plant cilantro in a pot:

1. The bottom of the container must be filled with drainage.
2. Then fill with nutritious soil, leaving 3 cm from the top.
3. Lay out 10 whole cilantro seeds or 20 separate ones (depending on the width and length of the container, the number of coriander seeds varies).One round seed yields 2 plants.
4. Cover with earth, layer thickness 1-1.5 cm.
5. Moisten the ground, it is recommended to use a spray bottle.
6. The pots are placed in a warm, dark place, covered with plastic or glass.
7. Until the cilantro sprouts, maintain soil moisture.
8. Coriander seeds need 7-10 days to germinate.

If cilantro seeds are soaked for 1 to 2 hours before planting, they will sprout faster. As soon as shoots appear, the pot is placed on a lighted windowsill, the polyethylene is removed.

Where to place the seedling pot

Coriander loves light, with a lack of daylight, additional lighting lamps are installed. West-facing windows are suitable, ideally southern ones are used. The more light, the better the cilantro greens. Indoor temperature is not less than +15 ⁰С.

How to care

It is enough to fulfill simple agrotechnical requirements. Cilantro care is minimal, the plants are unpretentious and undemanding.

Temperature

Coriander is cold-resistant, but has a negative attitude to heat. Therefore, the optimal temperature for growing greens in room conditions will be + 14 ... + 20 ⁰С. In this case, it is necessary to moisten the cilantro, spray the bush about once a week.

Watering

Coriander greens require moist soil to grow and develop properly. The first 1-1.5 months need to be moistened with a spray bottle. This is to avoid blurring the cilantro roots.

In the future, gently watered the soil near the coriander roots. Water should not come into contact with the leaves. They carefully monitor that the plant does not dry out, cilantro is hard to bear such stresses.

Lighting

Light is necessary for proper development, coriander does not stretch and only gives lush greenery if it has enough light. Cilantro needs it 6-10 hours a day; if there is a shortage of it, window sills are equipped with special lamps.

Thinning

It is recommended to remove excess coriander plants. This is necessary so that the remaining cilantro sprouts feel more free and form more green mass instead of thin leaves.

When removing excess cilantro plants, you should be careful, you do not need to pull out unnecessary sprouts with the roots. They are carefully cut with a knife or scissors. Damage to the root system of the remaining plants will slow down the growth and development of the bush.

Thinning the cilantro in time will allow the remaining coriander seedlings to develop more green mass.

Removing peduncles

The harvest on the windowsill is necessary to supply the table with fresh cilantro. But do not forget that any plant tends to reproduce. With the appearance of peduncles, the growth of the green mass of coriander is greatly slowed down. The plant puts all its energy into growing seeds.

For those who do not need them, it is recommended to remove the peduncles from the cilantro. Carefully, so as not to uproot the plant, cut out the nascent flowers with scissors. Then the plant will continue to delight with green foliage.

Take a look also

Description of the coriander variety Amber, Borodinsky and Debut features of cultivation and care

Fertilizer

Summer residents do not recommend zealous feeding. But once a month does not interfere with feeding cilantro with complex fertilizers. So the leaves will be more luxuriant, the greens will be juicier and more aromatic.

Pests and diseases

Among the insects that harm cilantro:

• bed bugs;
• seed eater;
• winter scoop;
• umbrella moth;
• wireworm.

To combat them, it is recommended to treat coriander with insecticides.

Of the diseases, cilantro is susceptible to powdery mildew and ramularia. In diseased plants, the color of the leaves changes. Compliance with the planting technique and prevention of waterlogging is required. If cilantro is infected, diseased plants are removed, all greens are treated with fungicides. You should not eat processed coriander leaves until the expiration date of the drug. These data are indicated in the instructions.

Harvesting

Unlike collecting cilantro greens from the beds, plants from the windowsill are never cut to the root. Leave 1 cm of stem length. Then the cilantro leaves will start growing again.

Cut coriander leaves, the length of which is not less than 15-20 cm. To continue the growth of greenery, small central leaves are left.

The peculiarity of cilantro is that it dies off very quickly.In order not to be left without coriander, you should plant new seeds every 2-3 weeks. Then you will provide yourself with cilantro greens for a long time.

Coriander seeds are harvested when they are easily removed by hand. Most often, their color changes to light brown. Cilantro is thoroughly dried.

Storage

Keep fresh cilantro in the freezer, cut and freeze the leaves. Then add to the finished dish. If it is not possible to freeze the coriander, you can dry it. Chop the cilantro and place in a dry container with a tight lid.

Ripe seeds are dried and stored as a whole. So cilantro retains most of the substances for which it is valued. Chop the coriander before use.

How to grow cilantro on a window in twists in winter

There is such a method of growing coriander greens on windowsills, like planting in twists. The process is simple, cilantro greens grow excellent. You will need:

• plastic bags for freezing;
• non-woven towel;
• large plastic glass;
• sponge for uniform watering;
• a liquid solution of potassium permanganate;
• hydrogen peroxide;
• fertile soil;
• cilantro seeds.

The work surface is being prepared, the polyethylene is folded in half, the length is about 35-40 cm, a rolled towel is applied on top, its length is shorter than the polyethylene. You need to leave a free edge in order to wrap the twist with it when finished. Then gently moisten with manganese water. The next stage is unfolding the soil. Layer thickness 1 cm, spread over the surface of the towel, leave 1 cm from the top and bottom edges. Moisten abundantly with a solution of potassium permanganate. From above, stepping back about 1-1.5 cm from the beginning of the soil layer, spread the coriander. Cilantro seeds are often placed every 1 cm.

The final stage is folding. A neat tube is curled up, not strongly squeezed or compressed. Leaves room for roots. When the soil runs out, wrap the rest of the polyethylene a little tighter. Tie the resulting twist so that it does not unwind. Attach a paper on which the name of the seeds and the date of planting are signed.

At the bottom of the plastic glass, water is poured, about 0.5 cm, 12-15 drops of hydrogen peroxide are added there. A twist with cilantro is placed in it, closed with polyethylene, tightened with an elastic band. Carefully monitor the water level, it should not drop. After the cilantro sprouts, remove the film, put the glass on a sunny windowsill.

Reviews about growing at home

Tips from experienced gardeners will help a novice grower grow coriander greens correctly, while avoiding common mistakes.

Nadezhda: “It's easy to grow cilantro. It is enough to fulfill simple requirements, and the greens will be on the table all year round. No need to replant plants, the culture does not like this. It is better to initially plant cilantro in a large container, then break through. The spice is not to everyone's taste, and for health reasons too. Therefore, I advise you to think and evaluate all the pros and cons.

Cilantro is a useful green vitamin necessary for humans. It is not difficult to grow it on the site, but those summer residents who are very fond of coriander grow it at home on the windowsill. There is nothing difficult in this, it is enough to find a place, good seeds and fulfill the requirements for caring for cilantro.