Creating a herb garden is a lovely idea and particularly beneficial if one enjoys cooking and then getting the sheer satisfaction of enjoying some time gardening.
To kick-off, maybe you are thinking about growing your own coriander to start, not only to be able to flavour your cooking, but would also probably be a nice talking point amongst friends.
So what is the recipe to grow successful coriander?
What do you need to know about how much water it requires?
Coriander plants are not heavy users of water. If you are growing coriander from seed again regular watering will be required until the plant and roots are established.
Beyond that, you will need regular watering, enough to keep the soil moist, but do not water until it goes soggy, as this will overload the roots and they will be prone to rot.
However, you should not overthink the process of watering, but just practice. It is a good habit to get into. Herbs do need regular watering to thrive.
Alongside knowledge of the requirements of your plants, the amount of water that it requires also depends on how you intend to grow your coriander and where you would place your little herb garden.
Now let’s look at how much water it requires, and different growing conditions for coriander.
Ideal Conditions to Grow Coriander
Coriander enjoys a sunny location in Spring. They will grow better in lots of sun but not hot temperatures, and watering regularly will help to keep the soil moist and cool, and assist in creating the right conditions for your plant.
Once your coriander is growing, it will grow fast. If you are concerned about it not growing as fast as you want- just consider improving the conditions of your herb plant.
Remember This: The soil should drain well and therefore not be clay-like soil, consider a regular fertilizer to assist your plant.
Different Water Requirements for Different Methods of Growing Coriander
Plants have a few pathways to grow; depending on your situation and experience you may or may not have a large enough yard for a garden or may only have the ability to keep your plants sunning on a balcony space.
You may also just want to stretch your experimenting into different ways to grow plants other than just soil based growing.
So how much water would the coriander plant need for each of the environments?
Ground
You have your herb garden, and you have the ideal sunny corner spot for your coriander.
You will need to supply them with water at approximately an inch of water each week until they grow to a mature size and then water the soil regularly to keep the soil irrigated and moist.
In general, you will want to keep things like the temperature in mind; in hot weeks, your garden will require more water than cold weeks.
Pot
Naturally, how much water you provide to your plant is linked to how big your pot is.
It is important to keep in mind that a coriander plant will not do very well in a pot that’s too small.
The pot should be at least the size of a standard ruler (12 inches) across for the plant to grow properly.
Most important is that the pot is well-drained, so the roots will not sit in the water and get bad.
You can water it as needed to keep the soils healthy and the plant gets enough sun.
Hydroponics
This is a wonderful method to grow plants, and it is typically much quicker than using standard soil.
However, there may be more specialized knowledge and equipment than you are used to in regular soil planting.
Growing herbs using any type of hydroponics could a fun hobby that could provide you with fresh herbs and a fulfilling, personal activity.
The amount of clean water that you will want for your system to work properly will of course depend on the size of your water reservoir in your hydroponics system.
Avoid Killing Your Coriander Plant by Watering It Enough
A good idea to avoid killing your coriander plant altogether is:
- To apply the correct care, remember what the plant would experience in its natural setting. You should at times be extra careful with watering, as that plays an important role in the plants growth, as does the cultivation method.
- Knowing the signs to look for can be invaluable to help you not drown your little herb. A little sunshine can go a long way for this little herb. They are typically morning sun-loving plants and should get a minimum of 6 hours of sunshine every day to flourish.
- During hotter days, consider giving your plant a bit of extra water compared to a cooler day, but incorporation the rule of thumb of never allowing the soil to dry out. Try not to overwater on cooler days, while keeping an eye on the soil is really the best option here.
- Likewise, try not to over-nurture the plants which usually means that similarly to the water applied, you want your amount of nutrients to be relative with the amount of water the plant is receiving. Nutrient application every couple of weeks should suffice.
How Much Water Does My Coriander Plant Need to Be Revived?
As mentioned already, you could have overwatered the plant, by saturating the soil, and that will rot your plant’s roots and ultimately the plant would die, if you do not have adequate drainage.
But if the opposite is true and your plant does not seem to be doing well, it’s wilting, looks sad (turns yellow), is it able to be revived?
Will watering it help?
The coriander plant could not get enough water, and you must water more often.
Soil could be draining too fast, it may also be a good idea to add some compost to the potting mix which you can take from a nursery locally.
Compost will hold much more moisture in the soil, retaining moisture for your plant.
From Experience: Should the issue be dehydration, this would resolve after a day or so with consistent watering and increasing the nutrient and quality of thesoil.
Conclusion
Coriander plants require varying quantities of water depending on their life stage, where they are situated in the growing environment, and how they are being grown.
When it comes to watering coriander plants a good rule of thumb is to ensure you do not have your plant’s roots sitting in water, and for the rest, as long as the soil stays moist (in the ground or a container) you are doing well.
In short, coriander is a great herb, and caring properly for your plant will yield you lots of flavor for any recipe.