Spotlight on: Micro Coriander
An incredible micro herb to grow and supply, which very much deserves a big shiny spotlight on it this week!
I’ve been growing micro coriander at my farm since the early days. It’s one of my absolute favourites and my customers love it too! It can be a bit tricky to grow though and takes a little longer than other micros, but it yields well, seed cost is reasonable and it’s an easy sell.
In my insulated Grow House I could grow coriander all year round, as I get relatively consistent temperatures in there. I choose to only grow it during the summer months though. 3 reasons for this:
It does tend to grow better and faster in consistently higher temperatures (less faff from a grower’s point of view!).
It’s always an exciting time when my coriander comes back on for summer with my customers! I do a mini re-launch of it.
Even though an indoor microgreens growing operation doesn’t have seasons, I still like to grow some of mine to suit the time of year :) Just a personal preference.
Scroll on and I’ll teach you how to grow and sell it in the UK 💚
The 3 stages of micro coriander growth - live from my Grow House this morning!
The Growing
PREFERRED SEEDS (as of May 2023) - Split Coriander from Grown Local
SOAKING - No soak
PREFERRED MEDIUM - Peat free compost for me. If you’re getting problems with damping off on compost, try coco coir.
SEEDING PER UK GARLAND MICROGREENS TRAY (11” X 22”) - 35g
GERMINATION - Stack and weight for 7 days
WATERING - Bottom tray watering, little and often (when your bottom tray is dry).
SOW TO CUT TIME - 21 days
EXPECTED HARVEST - 150g - 200g
Like with all microgreens growing, these parameters will shift depending on what the conditions are like in your grow room. These are the current figures in my grow room in May in Leeds, UK where it’s a steady 22C during the day and 18C overnight.
* A note about split seeds. This just means that your seed comes split in two. Whole coriander seed is a ball, but for micro herb production it undergoes another process to split it into two. The bonus of this is that you’ll get a shoot growing from each half! Coriander seed also germinates faster and more consistently when it’s split.
Top growing tips:
1. Keep it dry - The delicate leaves of micro coriander can easily be weighted down if they have moisture on them, which can lead to them rotting. So try and keep the humidity of your grow room low (around 60% is ideal) using a dehumidifyer and/or opening doors and windows when its warm enough.
2. Good airflow is key - My grow racks fit 4 trays on them, but I sometimes just put 3 coriander trays on each so I can spread them out a bit to let air flow more freely around them. I recommend having a fan blowing the direction of your coriander to keep that air flowing and and to help with transpiration. Pointing small clip fans in their direction (not blasting too close though!) was a game changer for me! It resulted in much better, more consistent grows and prevented damping off.
3. Don't over water - to keep the moisture down. Little and often works best for coriander and only water when your bottom tray is just dry.
4. Keep it nice and warm - in germination and when growing. Also have a peek in the trays every day or so in germination and give them a light spray with water if your compost looks dry.
5. Weight it well during germination and most of the seed hulls should pop off when growing. It’s fine if a few cling on (they’re tasty!), but you don’t want too many as the texture won’t be great.
6. Wait until the true leaf has grown before harvesting and supplying. Ideally you’ll have the two seed leaves, with the true leaf growing in the middle on each of these shoots. The true ‘coriander’ leaf is what makes it recognisable and look amazing!
The Selling
Sell micro coriander for it’s flavour and it’s appearance. Both are exceptional!
To restaurants, cafes, delis, private chefs
Chefs should be a big customer. Many use it frequently to garnish their dishes and are already familiar with it so it should be an easier sell. A downside of the catering industry sourcing micro coriander from one of the larger national distributors is that it only lasts a matter of days before it’s completely wilted (with it being such a delicate micro herb). I’ve seen these arrive in kitchens and they’re sometimes already gone by the time they’re opened for the first time to use. This is where our small scale, local supply chain is a huge benefit to chefs. We can get our product directly to them quickly after harvest, sometimes the same day, and the difference this makes in quality will be obvious.
I recommend selling direct to chefs in quantities of 25g, in 500cc punnets for £2.50/punnet.
To home customers - direct to houses, through collection points, at farmers markets and food events
It’s not only the foodie pros who love micro coriander, so do the public! Some of my regular home subscribers get particularly giddy when coriander is back available! They’re a great addition on your event stall too. The public are familiar with coriander as a herb and will recognise the leaf. It’s your job to then tell them how much more delicate and fragrant it is than it’s larger version!
I recommend selling direct to home customers in quantities of 25g, in 500cc punnets for £2.50 - £3/punnet.
As well as on it’s own, micro coriander also goes amazingly well lightly sprinkled into a mixed salad punnet (with pea shoots, sunflower shoots etc). I recommend selling these in 75g, 1g of this being your coriander ‘flavouring’, in 1000cc punnets for £3 - £3.50/punnet.
It’s up to you, but I prefer not to offer micro coriander to my shops or distributors. As I’ve already mentioned, it’s a delicate one, so I don’t want it to be sat with distributors or on shelves slowly wilting away. I’d hate for such a high quality micro herb to lose that quality by not getting to the customer quickly enough.
And there you have it, micro coriander. Get growing it, get selling it and revel in it’s amazingness!
If you’re keen to learn more about getting your own microgreens business up and running, then here’s my
FREE UK Microgreens Mini Business Guide
It will also teach you how to grow Pea shoots and spicy radish shoots AND how to sell them to your customers!
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In your guide, you’ll get:
5 great reasons for starting a microgreens business in the UK right now
A basic equipment list
A step-by-step guide to growing and harvesting radish shoots and pea shoots, including UK pricing suggestions and profit margins.
A how-to guide to selling your microgreens to chefs, restaurants and your local community.