How to grow your own coriander at home as supermarket shortage looms

Australia's unpredictable weather means there are times when your favourite fruit, vegetables and herbs are hard to find at the supermarket or more expensive than usual.

Coriander is the latest produce to take a hit thanks to recent extreme heat and heavy rain in Melbourne and Heatherton in Victoria, and Adelaide and the Riverland in South Australia where the majority of coriander crops are.

While there is greenhouse grown, overseas stock, dried and frozen coriander to keep us going, growing your own at home means you'll have some if there isn't any in store when you need it and it will also help you save money.

Growing your own is easier than you think and can be started from seed or seedlings. 

You don't need a lot of space to do it either with a windowsill and balcony enough room, plus there are plenty of grow lights to use indoors if there isn't enough sunlight coming through.

Growing coriander seeds

For most regions of Australia you can start sowing coriander seeds in March and April.

Temperate regions such as Sydney, Wollongong, the central coast, Adelaide and Perth can also sow coriander seeds in August, September, October and November.

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Sub-tropical areas like Brisbane, Coffs Harbour and the Gold Coast and tropical regions like Darwin and Cairns can sow coriander seeds from March until October.

For arid regions, including Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Mildura and Alice Springs, March, April May and August and September are the best time of year to sow.

Cool regions such as Canberra, Melbourne and Hobart have a shorter sowing season from September to December.

Seeds can be grown in the ground or containers and are best sown directly in place rather than raising seedlings.

They'll need to be in a spot that gets three hours of sun a day but avoid planting in extremely hot weather as this makes coriander prone to bolt which makes it taste bitter.

Once seeds have been sown keep soil moist but not wet and try to water the soil not the leaves to prevent fungal diseases like powdery mildew.

Your plant will be ready to harvest in as little as 30 days. Make sure to remove flowers as they appear to keep coriander producing leaves for a longer period of time.

If the leaves look the right size for eating they are ready to pick. Just pinch or cut off what you need from the outer leaves and leave the rest to use next time you are cooking as they should be used not long after picking.

Growing coriander from seedlings

Coriander seedlings mean the time between planting and harvesting is shorter, but you will need to take extra care with them.

The roots don't like to be disturbed so be mindful of them when transplanting into a container or garden bed.

Protect seedlings from the wind as the leaves and stems can get easily damaged and provide shade for the plant in summer.

Make sure the soil remains moist as allowing it to dry out will cause stress to the plant and it will bolt.

How to ensure constant coriander supply

There will come a time when your coriander plant will go to flower and you won't be able to harvest the leaves anymore.

So that you don't end up without coriander leaves to harvest once your plant has bolted, sow a couple of seeds every two or three weeks. This means a new plant will be ready to harvest as another one goes to flower.

And if you get really into growing your own coriander you can save the seeds and use those to keep growing more.

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