Thursday, January 27, 2011

Sawtooth Coriander Seeds

It has been almost five months since my last post on sawtooth coriander in September. It has grown quite huge and many young seedlings have appeared by the sides of the pot. The seeds was harvested in December, they are really tiny!











The photos above were taken in September when it started to flower. The flower does not look like a flower! They look more like a cluster of leaves grown together to form a flower-like pattern and in the centre are the seeds which look like the green version of conifer seeds!


This photo below was taken a few weeks before I harvested the seeds. You can see from this photo, the flowers has multiplied, when I counted it was more than 50. And the flowers are spread out to a few 'tiers' from one single stem.  It gets too heavy and taking up space, and they are rather spikey, so I cut off the flower stem at the bottom as soon as it is shows signs of drying. 





This plant can be really big, see how one plant spreads out and occupies the space of the pot.


Many young seedlings growing at the sides of the pot.


The dried seeds.


The seeds are extremely small. (They look like small little bugs, don't they?)  From the 50 over flowers, the seeds collected are only about 1 teaspoon! But imagine if the sowing of these seeds is 100% success, then, that will a big number of plants!


So far, there has been no signs of any flowers from the rest of the sawtooth corianders! I'm really hoping that they will flower soon, as there would be more seeds to share.  I'm liking this to "Seed Week" over at Kebun Malay-Kadazan girls.


Happy Gardening !


29 comments:

  1. Congratulations for collecting so many seeds!!! Btw, do you cook the leaves or the seeds? Seed Week is exciting seeing people from all over the world collecting many different kind of seeds. What I have are Zinnia, Cosmos and Basil.

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    1. We use the leaves to cook with. Add lots of flavor. It is like cilantro but a little stinger. They smell alike

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  2. You should share with us on how you cook with sawtooth coriander! They look very unique!

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    1. Use the way you use cilantro. We make a paste with onions, garlic, peppers, cilantro and saw teeth coriander and use it every time we cook Spanish food.

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  3. It looks a bit unusual, I think easier to grow than normal one by looking at the seedlings in the pot. Does it has the same smell and can be used in the same recipes as the regular coriander?

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  4. I love this coriander... I hope to get some seeds from my sis-in-law when I return to Malaysia for a holiday... the leaves give out a really lovely fragrance and I like to take it fresh...

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  5. You have so many babies to nurture. Does your cute visitors like to play around this herb?If they are avoiding it maybe with all those babies you can make them as border plant. You are going to be guru herba. I wonder what herbs are fluorishing in your garden as well. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Hello I was googling around and saw this post (and saw your name!) do you know what this plant is called in Malay? Or even better apa kana panggil ni di sabah hehe. Thanks

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  6. So great you got so many seeds. I didn't really knew this plant, thank you for sharing

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  7. Hi

    I am Rani from India.Your have lovely Potted garden.I never heard about this seeds. But looks so nice. Thanks for sharing. I like to invite you to visit my blog. Thank you.

    cheers
    rani

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  8. Hi One,
    The amount of the seeds are only about 1 teaspoon, have not tried germinating this, do not know whether it will be successful or not, will try after CNY. If successful, can give some to you. I use the leaf for steaming fish, extremely fragrant! And once, I picked the young leaves and shred into small pieces for salad. Have not tried the seeds, right now the seeds are very precious, only about 1 teaspoon, hopefully there will be more seeds in future, as I would really like to share the seeds. Seed Week is really a good idea and fantastic of Diana to host. Really interesting to read the posts, have not finished reading them yet!

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  9. Hi Malar,
    I use the leaves when I have steamed fish for dinner, really fragrant. Will try to incorporate more in my cooking and experimenting my dishes, and will share on my gardening blog when I can!

    Hi p3chandan,
    Yes, these are easier to grow. They are actually 'maintenance-free'! I just leave them under the sun, which they seem to love! The smell is similar to that of coriander, only much stronger and really nice. When you touch the leaves, the smell will linger on your hands, and I love to do that! Will try it in curry dishes after CNY, and will let you know how it turns out!

    Hi Lrong,
    You can grow this over there? Yes, it is extremely fragrant, I just love the smell.

    Hi Diana,
    Yes, you are right! They do seem to avoid this plant. It will be difficult to plant this as border plant for me, because lack of space. I'm getting a headache now, thinking of where to put some of my seedlings and my other plants too! Guru herba?? You are funny! I have still a lot to learn and understand about herbs and plants. I should take a course from you on how to grow plants successfully! And I do have other herb plants, will post about them one by one! I am planning to plant more herbs, but space constraints is the problem. I have to plan and perhaps remove some of my existing plants to accommodate more herb and veggie plants! Wait till I strike lottery and then buy a plot of land to garden to my hearts content! ^..^

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  10. Hi fer,
    Thank you for stopping by! Sawtooth coriander are mostly used in Thai and Malaysia savoury dishes. It is extremely fragrant, similar to coriander, but the smell is stronger. I'm sure that you will like this plant.

    Hi Rani,
    Thank you for your visit and your lovely comment. Yes, will visit your blog right after this. Have a nice day!

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  11. Wow that's a lot! My neighbout used to have this plant. Now they are gone. You are really good with herbs!

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  12. Congratulations Joy,
    I am honored to pass along the Stylish Blog award to My Little Potted Garden. I love coming to your blog. You can pick up the award on my blog.
    Best Wishes,
    Miz Helen

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  13. Excellent sharing Thanks for share i am sure its must help me. thanks for doing this.
    Potted Plants

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  14. Hi,I'm wondering if you had success germinating your sawtooth coriander seeds. I've tried a few times, and no luck yet. Some people say they must be watered from below because they are so tiny and roll away. Others say the seed must be very fresh. Your seed was definitely fresh! I'm trying some on damp paper towels now, just to see if the seed shows any activity at all, but apparently, they can take up to a month to germinate, so I'm waiting (im)patiently. Would love to hear what results you've had.

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  15. Greetings From Orlando Florida !!! My sawtooth coriander plants have all produced the most wonderful seed flowers. It's now October and one by one they are turning brown "ripe" seeds!!! I'm cutting each brock off separately as they ripen and store them. I've planted 12 small pots of the seeds and it appears that 80+ percent are producing plants !!! I always wondered why my local farmers market could sell each of these plants for only a dollar !! If one small flower gives 80+ then that alone will produce about 75 to 100 plants !! Thanks for sharing this !!!

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  16. I am very happy to read this blog..Thanks for giving us this useful information about Saw tooth Coriander Seeds. Fantastic walk-through. I appreciate this post.

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  17. These long coriander leaves go extremely well with fish curry. Take 4 - 5 leaves, tear them into halves and throw them into the boiling curry just before you take the pot off the fire.
    Another recipe - my mother's. Grind the leaves into paste with equal quantity of mint leaves and cilantro, 1/3 amount of curry leaves, a little ginger, a little tamarind pulp and salt to taste, adding a little water. If the final paste is too watery reduce it on fire, making sure to keep the lovely green colour. Keeps for more than 3 weeks in the refrigerator. Great with rice, chapatis and even bread. Healthy food!

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  18. Uttam Kumar Thangiah Thanks so much for these cooking hints !! BTW I still have extra sawtooth coriander seeds for anyone who cares for some ! Just msg me at michaelmalone at earthlink dot net

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  19. Where did you get the seeds from? And when is the best time to sow the seeds.

    Andrea

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  20. Where did you get the seeds from? And when is the best time to sow the seeds.

    Andrea

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  21. My Sawtooth Coriander seeds are a bumper crop this year with millions of viable seeds. I'm wanting to share these freely for anyone who will send me a simple stamp with your address. Please either mail a stamp to Michael Malone 2501 Catalina Drive, Orlando, FL 32805 or email me michaelmalone at earthlink dot net. These have been harvested this week and I will be happy to share any knowledge on starting and growing these plants. While they are slow to germinate they are eternal after getting started.

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  22. i am so glad i have found this article! thank you! my plant has produced many little flowers and i had no idea what to do. so i should wait for them to dry before cutting and then pot them? thanksso much!

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    1. By now I'm sure you've answered your own question. Wait until the flowers dry up and the seeds become brown and brittle. At that time you can simply let the seeds spread or save them and plant them for this next season. I've only sent out about two packages of seeds this season so I have a LOT of extra if anyone needs them. Please just read the name and above address and send a simple stamp to cover postage. If you can't afford the postage... no problem.. I'll cover it. Just let me know.

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    2. One last comment... the flowers at the center of the bunch will be the most fertile of them all. As you move away from the center of the plant the seeds will still be OK for planting, but, might not have the potency of the center ones.

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  23. can i have some seeds to plant please? thanks and God Bless
    barefoot60@aol.com
    David L.

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    1. Greetings David L. I have a LOT of extra fresh seeds and will be more than glad to share them with you. Please just read my name and address posted above and send a single stamp for postage and I'll see you have the seeds mailed out asap.

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