Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander)

 

Though I live in a subtropical region with pretty nice weather year around, there are a few plants that will not grow until they are ready. One of them is Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander). I planted seeds all over in February and January and just a few sprouted in March. I keep these downstairs on my balcony. They do not get direct sunlight and are soft and I can use they as a fresh herb. I have more upstairs where they get constant direct sunlight. They are huge, but tough. I use these in cooked dishes. 

Pakuchi (Cilantro,Coriander)

These Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander) plants bolted and now flowering. I will let them go to seed and collect them for future planting. I plant seeds every couple of weeks and have a few sprouts that I'm already using. It's nice to have fresh herbs handy.

Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander)

 

These Pakuchi (Cilantro) plants are finally starting to mature. I made Tacos today and cut the mature stems for use as a topping. Since the leaves were fresh and not sitting on a supermarket shelf for a few days, the aroma was powerful. These plants will continue to grow for another month, but I have already planted new seeds to begin a new harvest. 

Green Lettuce, Beets, Red Radish, and Cilanto

This Lettuce plant is doing well and I need to remove the bottle soon.

These Lettuce plants are doing well, but still fragile, so will keep them covered a while longer. 

Clusters of Beet seedlings are sprouting. I need to separate them soon. These are salad Beets. They can be used like regular Beets, but are extremely sweet and can be eaten raw.

The seedlings on the left are salad Radishes. I need to separate them. To the right is a Tomato plant. I'm not sure where that came from :)

The Pakuchi (Cilantro) seedlings are doing well. They are still fragile, so will keep them covered a little longer. I've already started to plant more and will try and keep the cycle going all year. 

Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander)

The Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander) I covered are doing great and growing. Recently I planted a new seed. It is the one covered by the bottle in the center. 

Pakuchi (Cilantro)

I planted Pakuchi seeds a few times throughout the summer, but only a few sprouted; however, I guess it is Pakuchi season, because the seeds are starting to sprout. 

Cilantro (Pakuchi)

I'm always trying to grow Cilantro (Pakuchi) since we love it, but like I mentioned in the String Bean post they had their own growing season. I planted many seeds, but only one seedling sprouted. 

 

Herbs (Cilantro, Pakuchi, Coriander)

 

These two Pakuchi plants bolted and now flowering. I will collect the seeds and add them to my seed stock for next season's planting.

Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander)

 

(Planter 1) Two Pakuchi plants are now bolting. I will let them let go to seed and collect them for future use; however, I still have more young plants ready for use.

(Planter 2) Bottom

(Planter 3)

Pakuchi (Cilantro,Coriander)

Pakuchi is really starting to grow.

Container 2

Container 3

Pakuchi (Cilantro,Coriander)

 

I already cut many stocks of Pakuchi from these two plants once, but they have grown back and the sprouts are now starting to grow quickly. 

These seeds were planted months ago (maybe April or May), but pleased to finally see them sprout.

The Pakuchi seeds in the right side planter were planted on 30 July. I really need to record when these plants sprout so I do not waste my time or a planter, because they will sprout when they are ready and not when I want them to. Lol! In the first picture I do have two plants that sprouted early and I'm now using, but this is an exception. 

Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander)

 

I planted Pakuchi seed from my seed stock all year, but it just did not sprout, but recently it has started to sprout. I was thinking that since I live in a sub-tropical region I could grow it year around, but I now understand it will sprout when it is ready. If you look closely there are seedlings popping up all over. It's pooping up in other containers as well. 

I cut a bund to make Tacos. Since it was freshh, it was quite potent.

Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander)

I planted some Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander) seeds today using seeds I collected from my October 2020 planting. There is still a small plant to the right, but it is flowering, so will get some more seed.

I planted these about a week ago. I sprinkled tons of seed and hope I get tons of Pakuchi.

I clipped these Pakuchi and Lettuce plants today and hung them upside down to dry. We are getting into rainy reason, so do not want to leave them outside too long. The Pakuchi seeds would have been fine, but the Lettuce seeds would have just washed away.

These are some seeds I gathered on 1 May. The plants had been hanging upside down for about a month to dry.

Sunny Lettuce (Red Leaf Lettuce)

(12/30) The top two planters contain Sunny Lettuce (Red Leaf Lettuce). I planted the top planter about a month before the second and it is now starting to bolt. I will leave them flower and harvest the seeds for future planting. The third planter contains Pakuchi (Cilantro) and the bottom, green onions.

I planted this Lettuce on 8 October about a month after the second container, along with some beets.

I need to get some more Lettuce growing, so planted more seeds. This is Green Lettuce. It is a loose leaf Lettuce like Sunny Lettuce, but the leaves do not turn red.

 

Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander)

(10/21) I do not have great success growing Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander). I plant the seeds in several planters, but plants do not sprout for a year or two later, even though I crack the seed pod. Anyway, what I do is look in all my planters for seedlings and remove them and replant them together. I do this every year and generally get good growth from this one planter. I just wish I was more successful from the beginning. I find that Pakuchi sprouts twice a year in my region. Once in October and again in March.

Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander) Propagation

We use a lot of Cilantro (Pakuchi) and I have two planters growing that were planted about three weeks apart, but wanted to begin another planter using seeds I collected and let dry.

Inside each round seed pod is actually two seeds. The seed pod can be planted directly, but it may take a few weeks for the pod to soften and the seeds to germinate, so to speed up the process I place the seeds in a towel and use a round branch or rolling pin to gently crack the seed pods. 

(5/6) I prepare the soil (1 part potting soil, 1 part manure, 1 part fine mulch) and add a little water. Not too much, just enough to make it damp. I add the seeds and mix it up and place it in the center of the towel. I tightly tie the corners of the towel and lightly water the towel. I sit in a shaded area for three days and open. The seeds should have germinated. I prepare a shallow planter using the same soil mix above, break up the mix containing the germinated seeds and sprinkle them over the planter soil and lightly cover with more soil and water. keep is a shaded area until the sprouts are 3-4 days old and then move to full sun. The plants should be ready to pick in 30 days from that point. 

Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander) Seed

My Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander) plant bolted and flowered. It now have seeds and will collect them once they dry and turn brown. I planted more Pakuchi from seed I gathered last season and placed the planter in my Herb garden. Pakuchi seeds can be dried and stored for future planting or powered and used as a spice. 

Tip: Cilantro seed pods actually contain two seeds. To encourage the seeds to sprout quicker, place the dry seeds in a towel and use a roller to break them up.  

Plants Bolting (Cilantro, Coriander, Pakuchi, Basil, Garlic Chives, Nira)

Time to collect more seeds for the next planting season. 

Cilantro (Coriander, Pakuchi) flowers are exceptionally pungent and can be stronger than a handful of leaves. 

Basil flowers are great for salads. The plants produce a lot of flowers and seeds, so there are plenty for both eating and saving for next season. 

I do not plant the seeds from Garlic Chives (Nira) since they do not always grow true to the mother plant, so I either eat them or just cut them off.

Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander)

My Pakuchi (Cilantro, Coriander) is staring to bolt, so I planted another planter using seed from last year. I will let the first planter go to seed and collect what I can. Plus, Pakuchi flowers are pretty and good to eat. 

Fall Planting in a Sub-tropical Climate (Update)

Cilantro (Pakuchi) 

These plants are from seeds that dropped last season, but estimate they are 6 weeks old.

Sunny Lettuce (Red Leaf Lettuce)

(6 1/2 weeks old)

Crowd Growing - Planter 1

Shungiku (5 1/2 weeks old)

Red Daikon Radish (5 1/2 weeks old)

Bush Beans (6 1/2 weeks old)

Crowd Growing - Planter 2

Celery (6 weeks old)

Red Daikon Radish (5 1/2 weeks old)

Yellow Potatoes (6 weeks old)

Celery (6 weeks old)

Red Daikon Radish (5 1/2 weeks old)

Not maturing as quickly as the package claimed, but I suspect this is due to the cooling temperature, which is between mid-60's (18°C) to mid-70's (24°C). 

Green Peppers (11 1/2 weeks old)

The plant to the right is flowering and has a few small Peppers.

Eggplant (12 weeks old)

I cut off most of the diseased leaves and added some nutrients and fertilizer. It has rebounded and has about ten Eggplant growing, plus it is still flowering. As I predicted from a previous post, the Eggplant are beautifully purple with no scaring now that it has cooled down.

Green Peppers (9 1/2 months old)

Tons of Green Peppers and flowering again. I keep adding nutrients and fertilizer and it keeps going. This plant has produced over 45 Peppers in the past. We just picked six Peppers today and there are still 6 more Peppers on the plant, plus there is new leaf growth and blooming flowers so I expect many more Peppers from this one hardy plant.

Six Peppers picked today.

Japanese Sweet Potato (Beni Imo)

(1 week old)

These Beni Imo vines look wilted, but have since perked up and taken root.

Chili Peppers (Togarashi)

(8 weeks old)

Abiu Pouterie Caimito Tree

(6 weeks old)

Yellow Potato (Jagaimo)

(10 weeks old)