Exposure Sun or partial shade
Season Cool season
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Used extensively as a flavouring in Europe and west Asia, many North Americans may only recognize the sharp, savoury taste of caraway from the use its seeds in rye bread. Caraway reveals its close family ties to carrot through its carrot-like, feathery foliage, and the long taproot it develops in the first year. Like the carrot (also a biennial), the plant stores energy in this root to send up a tall flower stalk in year two, which is followed by seeds for the next generation. These characteristics are also found in parsley, as well as a handful of annual plants like cilantro, cumin, and dill. All of these plants produce umbelliferous flowers that are highly attractive to beneficial garden insects.
Use the delicate foliage to flavour soups and salads, use the seeds to flavour breads and baked goods, and even use the carrot-like tap root as a regular root vegetable.
Open-pollinated seeds.
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Latin
Latin
Carum carvi
Family: Apiaceae
Difficulty
Difficulty
Easy
Season & Zone
Season & Zone
Season: Cool season biennial
Exposure: Sun or part-shade
Zone: Hardy to Zone 4
Timing
Timing
Caraway is best sown directly outdoors in early autumn. For spring sowing, direct in the garden is preferred in order not to damage the taproot. Technically caraway seeds can be started in trays, but transplant them early and carefully, before the root is exposed.
Starting
Starting
Sow seeds 5mm-1cm (¼-½”) deep. If growing as a root crop, treat the plants like vegetables and space them 20cm (8″) apart. For seed production the plants can be spaced a bit farther apart.
Growing
Growing
Caraway plants look a bit like carrot plants. In the first year of growth, they reach about 20cm (8″) tall. New spring growth emerges from a parsnip-like taproot in early spring. By early summer, the plant begins to send up its flower stalk to around 60cm (24″) tall.
Harvest
Harvest
The edible leaves and flowers can be picked in the summer. In the fall, harvest the seed heads and dig up any second year plants. Sowing more seeds at this time is sensible.
Companion Planting
Companion Planting
As an umbelifer, caraway acts like a general health tonic for the garden. Once in bloom, the plants will attract many species of predatory insects to control pest species. Plant near any crop that suffers from caterpillars (such as Brassicas) or aphids (such as peas). Just be aware that this amazing property occurs when the plant is in bloom in its second year of growth.
More on Companion Planting.
West Coast Seeds is a family-owned company that embraces an organic lifestyle. A group of imagination catalysts and passionate educators, dedicated to producing products and services that better the environment. As part of our mission to repair the earth, we aim to inspire and empower people to take responsibility for the state of the planet. For us, organic is about much more than saying no to chemicals, it is about saying yes to building a healthy soil for the future.
For over 35 years, we have upheld our strong reputation as a leading seed supplier, seeking out the highest quality untreated seeds for organic growing and putting them through rigorous independent testing. We built our company on the exchange of generational wisdom in a masterclass community of newbies and masters alike. Our world may have changed, but our commitment to our people, our customers, and our planet has not.
We’re a values-based business that has blossomed into a lifestyle ethos, with products that support seeders, feeders, keepers, and the tiniest of creepers. Our mission? To mobilize the next generation of gardeners with products that nourish soil and grow vigorous, sustainable gardens. We believe all plants should be grown without the use of chemicals, and that the seeds we supply are an important component of regenerative gardening.
We don’t just offer seeds, we offer experience, insight, and understanding. From timeless garden wisdom to new tech know-how, this is learning on the job: knowledge gleaned not from the pages of a book but from burying our fingers in the soil. We test, experiment, observe and adapt, never happier than when we get to share what we’ve learned with others.
Gardens don’t just grow seeds. They grow minds and imaginations, people and communities. Our vision encompasses both the micro and the macro. We eat locally, protect pollinators, teach people to grow from seed, and support regional biodiversity. We think big but act small and deliver unexpected impact — always with community and purpose.
At West Coast Seeds we believe in the power of small and that little can be large. Like the tiniest seed germinates to evoke incremental change with massive potential, so to can our community of gardeners and growers together. Gardeners are the earth’s stewards, planting seeds of creative declaration. The soil provides the canvas, we provide the seeds.
Caraway is best sown directly outdoors in early autumn. For spring sowing, direct in the garden is preferred in order not to damage the taproot. Technically caraway seeds can be started in trays, but transplant them early and carefully, before the root is exposed.
Sow seeds 5mm-1cm (¼-½”) deep. If growing as a root crop, treat the plants like vegetables and space them 20cm (8″) apart. For seed production the plants can be spaced a bit farther apart.
Caraway plants look a bit like carrot plants. In the first year of growth, they reach about 20cm (8″) tall. New spring growth emerges from a parsnip-like taproot in early spring. By early summer, the plant begins to send up its flower stalk to around 60cm (24″) tall.
The edible leaves and flowers can be picked in the summer. In the fall, harvest the seed heads and dig up any second year plants. Sowing more seeds at this time is sensible.
