The container

Coriander seeds should be sowed in the container in which you plan to let it grow. This means that if you plant the seeds in a small container or cup, hoping that once they sprout, you will transplant them to a bigger container, then forget it. Coriander does not do well after a transplant. It will simply wilt away and die. So, choose a container that is big enough to start with and will give you a decent amount of coriander harvest.

Make sure the container has drainage holes in it for the water to drain out easily otherwise it will cause rotting of the roots. I usually use trays/tubs to grow them since the soil surface is more in tubs and hence we can grow multiple rows of coriander. Fill the tray with potting mix all the way up to half inch from the top. Then make rows in the soil by drawing a line with your finger or a stick. This makes it easy to sow and also easy at the time of harvesting. The tray is now ready for the seeds to be sowed.

The seeds

Coriander seed is technically a fruit containing two seeds in it. So the round coriander seeds that you probably use in your cooking so often, has two seeds in it. Each of them will grow into a coriander plant. The fruit can be sown whole or split and sown. Splitting increases the germination rate.

So how to go from a whole coriander seed to a split one, without having to split each seed individually? The way I do it is, I wear a slipper in my hand, spread the seeds on the floor [preferably a rough floor], and move the slipper over the seeds while pressing them. This is not the place to show your strength! Remember to be gentle; we are not making coriander powder.

The sowing

Once you have the split seeds, simply sprinkle them over the rows that you had made in the tray. Don’t crowd the seeds too close to each other as the leaves will need space to grow well. You need about 5cm between each plant for the leaves to get good sunlight and not overlap each other too much. Coriander seeds need to be sowed half inch deep in the soil. Once you have sowed the seeds, cover them with coco peat or soil and water them. Coriander seeds start germinating somewhere between 5 – 7 days after sowing. Once they start germinating, keep them in a place that receives good amount of sunlight. They will start growing vigorously and will be ready for use in another 10 days time.

The harvesting

Coriander leaves can be harvested when the plant is at least six inches tall. Take a sharp scissor and cut the leaves and stems. It can be harvested 3 – 4 times. If you notice that your coriander plant has flowered, save the seeds for the next batch of planting or let them fall and germinate on their own. If you regularly remove the matured leaves, it will delay the plant from flowering.

Your efforts have paid off when you harvest the coriander leaves you yourself planted. Now it’s time to experience the joy and excitement of garnishing your dishes with your own home grown kothmir.

The post A step-by-step guide to growing coriander at home appeared first on Complete Wellbeing.

To help you create a flourishing urban garden, I have put together a list of common gardening mistakes that many newbies make.

10 common gardening mistakes

1. Watering the plants too much or too little

This is one of commonest gardening mistakes urban gardeners make — they simply don’t know how much to water their plants. For plants that are set in the ground, water them well so that the soil is completely wet. For container grown plants, water them till you see some water draining from the drainage holes provided in the container. The containers must have a drainage hole in order to ensure proper drainage. Water should not stagnate near the roots as that can deprive the roots of oxygen and cause them to rot.

Another common gardening mistake beginners make is not ensuring that the plants will be watered when you are away for many days. During your absence, plants can be watered using automated drip irrigation systems. One can even improvise a slow drip system out of a pet bottle with a hole made in the bottom.

2. Over crowding the plants

Overcrowding usually happens when budding gardeners start growing plants from seeds. When sowing seeds, one should consider the space that a plant will need when it is fully grown. If too many seeds are sown in a container, they should be reduced to just one or two depending on the size of the container. This process of removing excess seeds is called “thinning”. Allowing all the plants to grow in a cramped pot will cause deficiencies in the plants and none of them will grow to their fullest potential.

3. Too much or too little light

For those living in cities, finding a place to have a garden can be quite a challenge. We often end up buying plants that look beautiful in the nursery, but they start fading and eventually die out. This could be due to faulty sunlight exposure.

While different plants have different light requirements, one can easily choose the location for planting if we remember few basic rules.

Most of the flowering annual plants need full sun or at least 4 – 6 hours of direct light. Observe the plants when you buy them in the nursery as to where they have been kept. If they were in a sunny spot, place them in a sunny spot. If you found those plants in a shaded area, place them in a shaded area in your garden.

South facing balconies receive the maximum light in terms of length and intensity. Next come east and west facing balconies. North facing balconies receive the least light for most part of the year. If you are growing vegetables, the best option is to grow them in south, east or west facing balconies.

4. Letting weeds take over

Sometimes we get uninvited guests in our garden in the form of weeds. It is important to know which one is the plant from the seed you have sown and which one is a weed. Before sowing the seed, it is good to read about it a little bit to know about the plant and how the seedling will look like.

Removing of the weeds has to be done as early as possible. Leaving the weed to grow in the container will result in the nutrients being eaten away by them, and your plant to suffer.

5. Not protecting from pests

We love healthy plants but so do pests. Pests are every gardener’s nightmare. By carefully inspecting the plants every morning, we can detect the pests early enough and get rid of them. Bugs, insects and caterpillars can be easily controlled when they are identified during their early stages.

Spraying the plants with organic pesticides such as neem oil will ensure that pests don’t attack the plants in future.

6. Planting out-of-season plants

This belong to the top of the list of common gardening mistakes newbies make. If you will pot plants that are out of season and then expect flowers or fruits, you are bound to be disappointed. This applies to plants that are non-native as well. All of us get excited when we see exotic vegetables and we immediately want to try growing them. Reading about the plant before planting will help set our expectations right.

7. Not feeding the plants

Most of us have the notion that, to grow and bloom, plants need only water and nothing else. Plants do need water but they also need about 16 different nutrients from the soil. Plants absorb nutrients that are dissolved in water. So what should you feed your plants and how often?

There are different types of plant fertilizers available. The easiest to find is compost. Compost is decomposed cow manure; it is organic and safe to the environment. Adding a handful of compost to every pot once every 15 days will ensure that your plant stays healthy and adds value to your garden.

There are water soluble synthetic fertilizers available as well. They result in faster growth. A popular choice is NPK 19-19-19 in water soluble form. A teaspoon of this dissolved in a litre of water can be applied to the plant roots once every 15 days. The results can be seen in less than a week’s time.

Remember, moderation is the key when it comes to fertilizer. Applying more will not result in a better plant. Indeed, many plants die due to the usage of excessive fertilizer.

8. Not choosing the right container size

Often new gardeners pot a big plant in a small container that is quickly outgrown. This is where regular repotting comes into the picture. Inspect the pot every month or so, to see if there are roots showing up on the soil surface or via the drainage holes in the bottom. If you see roots peeping, then it is time to move the plant to a bigger pot. If not done on time, your plant will outgrow the pot breaking it or it won’t grow well. Ask for the right size of the container in the nursery from where you buy the plant.

9. Sowing seeds too deep or too shallow

Sowing of seeds can make many new gardeners nervous. They worry about how deep or far apart the seeds have to be sown. The thumb rule is that the seeds should be sown twice as deep as they are thick. So, if the seeds are 5mm thick, sow them 10mm deep. If the seeds are too tiny, simply sprinkle them on the top.

10. Emotional meltdowns when our plants suffer

Last but not the least, sometimes, we get too attached to our plants and if they suffer we tend to take it too seriously. We may whistle in delight when our zinnia flowers and then be in tears when the orchid plant doesn’t flower for ages. No matter what, your garden will keep changing and you need not get too emotional about every pest attack or failed flowering.

Observe the above points, avoid making these common gardening mistakes that most budding gardeners make and soon you will be on your way to becoming a pro.

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