Most home gardeners may not initially recognize coriander by name, but a quick whiff of it’s tiny green leaves, and they’ll immediately recognize the familiar scent of cilantro, which is just another name that is more commonly used for this ancient herb. The entire coriander plant is edible, from its leaves down to it’s roots, and are a great source of potassium. Fresh coriander is used in cuisines from around the world, and is a major ingredient in Indian and Mexican food, as well as in some Belgian wheat beers.

So you’ve decided to plant coriander in your fantasitc garden, nice! According to our research on coriander, we don’t recommend planting carrots nearby.

Coriander can be grown in full sun, but in warmer climates where the sun is intense, plant the herbs in an area that receives light shade. Plant each coriander plant 12 to 18 inches apart to allow the plant to spread as it grows. For an intermittent harvest, set out plants ever 3 to 4 weeks, starting about a month before the last frost. Coriander is a self-sowing herb, so its seeds will drop on their own and continue to create new herbs that will fill out the following year.

Harvest your coriander crop at any time to use the leaves in a meal or salad. Cut a few of the stems close to the soil level, and take no more than one third of the plant’s branches. Coriander is a fast growing herb, so a regular harvest will actually force each plant to produce even more leaves and branches. Later in the season when seedpods appear, clip the seedpods off the branches and leave them in a paper bag to dry. After a few days, the edible seed will fall out of the husk.