Herb · Apiaceae
Caraway
Carum carvi
Hand it full sun and a patient first year, and caraway repays you with a crop of fragrant seed the next season.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
50–77°F · 10–25°C
70–90 days
Overview
Caraway earns its place in the cook's plot, a hardy biennial from the carrot family grown for the warm, faintly anise seed that finds its way into rye loaves, sharp cheese, and dishes left to simmer. It keeps a two-year rhythm, settling into a low rosette of feathery leaves through the first season and holding its flowers and seed back for the second. The taproot sits thick and parsnip-like in the ground, which is exactly why the plant dislikes being shifted once it has taken hold.
The Persian cumin nickname suggests otherwise, but this is a plant in its own right, Carum carvi, carrying a flavor that belongs to no other. It settles in happily across cool temperate gardens in USDA zones 4 to 9, asking only for full sun, steady moisture while the slow seed comes up, and the patience to let that first leafy year run its course before the seasonal table sees a return.
Care
The short version: give it full sun, fertile well-drained soil leaning toward neutral, and even moisture while the slow seed germinates, then sit through a quiet leafy first year before the seed crop arrives in year two.
Light
Caraway leans toward full sun to ripen a worthwhile seed crop, though it will manage in partial sun. The more direct light falling on the plot, the sturdier the flowering stems and the fuller the harvest you carry indoors in year two.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist and well drained, never sitting wet. The seedbed especially has to stay damp through the slow germination, since an early dry spell is the surest way to lose a whole row. Once the plants are standing, water every 3 to 7 days, adjusting for heat and rain.
Soil
Set it into fertile, well-drained loam worked through with organic matter. Caraway prefers things close to neutral, around pH 6.0 to 7.5, and a deep, loose bed gives that long taproot the clear run it wants.
Temperature
This is a cool-temperate herb, settled between roughly 50°F and 77°F (10°C to 25°C). It shrugs off the chill of zones 4 to 9, overwintering as a low rosette before it blooms the following year.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity in the range of 40% to 60% keeps caraway perfectly content, so there is no figure to chase. Open air moving freely around the plants counts for more than any reading on a gauge.
Feeding
Caraway is a light feeder, so a balanced fertilizer or a little compost in spring during active growth is all it asks. Hold back on the nitrogen, which only pushes soft leafy growth at the cost of the seed you are growing it for.
Pruning
There is barely anything to do. Clear away the spent flower and seed heads after harvest, deadhead if you want to keep self-seeding in check, and work carefully so you never disturb the central taproot crown.
Repotting
Caraway seldom calls for repotting and resents root disturbance, so sow it straight where it is to grow rather than moving young plants about. Should you keep it in a container, pick a deep one and leave that taproot intact.
Size & spacing
Plants stand 12 to 30 inches (30 to 75 cm) tall once the flowering stems rise in year two. Allow each one about 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) of space so air drifts through the planting and the rosettes never jostle for room.
When to plant
Caraway keeps a two-year calendar, so it suits the gardener who plays the long season. Direct sow in spring the moment the soil can be worked, or get a head start with an early-fall sowing. The plant beds in and makes leaves the first year, blooms in late spring of the second, and ripens its seed by mid to late summer.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Direct sow in spring as soon as soil can be worked, or in early fall.
- Harvest: Blooms late spring to early summer of the second year; harvest seeds when they turn brown in mid to late summer of year two.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Caraway is a relaxed herb to keep, and the little trouble it does run into tends to surface either down at the taproot or as a patchy, slow start in the seedbed. Match what you see against the notes below and act early, while a small intervention still turns things around.
When the cook's plot stalls and the roots run rusty
A bed that suddenly looks tired and undersized is often hiding carrot root fly below the soil line, its larvae chewing into the taproot until the whole plant slows. Ease one out of the row and you will find rust-colored tunnels winding through the root and small white maggots at work. Pull and bin anything infested, drape row cover over the rest from the day you sow, and shift your Apiaceae plot to a fresh corner each season so the flies lose the trail.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infested plants
- Use floating row covers from sowing
- Rotate Apiaceae crops to a new bed each year
A bare-looking row weeks after you sowed
Caraway takes its time coming up, so a thin, gappy stand almost always means the seedbed dried out before the seed could break, or you started with seed past its prime. Two to three weeks on, even with warm soil underfoot, you may count only a scattering of seedlings. Hold the bed evenly moist right through germination, keep the surface from crusting over, and resow shallow with fresh seed if the first sowing comes to nothing.
Fix:
- Keep the seedbed consistently moist until germination
- Resow with fresh seed at a shallow depth
- Avoid letting the surface crust over
Green caterpillars grazing the feathery foliage
Those plump green caterpillars striped with black and yellow are parsley worms, the young of the black swallowtail, and on a settled plant the ragged leaves look more alarming than they are. Rather than reaching for anything harsh, lift each one by hand and carry it to a sacrificial plant in another part of the garden. They turn into the kind of pollinator you will be glad to have drifting over the beds.
Fix:
- Handpick the caterpillars
- Relocate them to a sacrificial plant since they mature into pollinators
- Tolerate minor damage on established plants
Toxicity
The ripe seed is a cherished kitchen spice, so caraway is safe on your own plate. The growing plant is another matter where animals are concerned: ASPCA lists it as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, its carvone and limonene oils able to trigger mild vomiting and diarrhea. Keep the aromatic foliage and the harvested seed out of reach of inquisitive pets.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Mild
A cat that wanders the herb bed and takes a curious nibble of the scented leaves may drool, then bring its food back up, with loose stools close behind. The trouble stays mild and tends to settle on its own.
Dogs Mild
A dog tempted by the aroma can end up with an unsettled stomach after mouthing the leaves or seed, vomiting and diarrhea being the usual outcome.
Horses Toxic
Those same carvone and limonene oils unsettle a horse's gut, so a horse that grazes the planting can be left drooling, colicky, and passing loose droppings.
Rabbits Caution
Strong essential oils upset a rabbit's digestion quickly, so the aromatic leaves belong out of its reach rather than handed over as forage.
Livestock Caution
Grazing stock seldom go looking for the pungent foliage, but a big mouthful could touch off the same mild stomach upset that troubles other animals.
Birds Caution
Concentrated plant oils are hard on birds, so keep pet birds clear of the foliage and, above all, the oil-rich seed.
People Edible seeds safe
The ripe seed is a kitchen-garden classic that goes into bread, cheese, and slow stews with no concern at all. Treat it as food on the table rather than dosing on the concentrated oil, and there is nothing to give a second thought.
Aromatic foliage and seeds may tempt pets, so keep harvested seed and plants out of reach.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
United Kingdom
Animal PoisonLine: 01202 509000 (fee applies)
Australia
Animal Poisons Helpline: 1300 869 738
Varieties
Most caraway you will grow is the standard biennial, though a couple of named types are worth knowing if you want seed sooner or a fuller harvest off the same patch.
Annual caraway (var. annua, e.g. 'Sprinter')
This one flowers and ripens its seed in the very first season, sparing you the usual wait until year two.
'Arterner'
A German biennial chosen for a heavy crop of seed and a strong yield of essential oil.
Companions
Plant near
Peas: Traditional interplanting companion; its deep taproot helps loosen and break up soil for neighboring plants.
How to propagate
Caraway comes from seed, and there is really one sound way to go about it, given a long taproot that simply will not stand for being moved.
SeedEasy
Direct sow in early spring once soil is workable, or in early fall · Germinates in 1-3 weeks; forms a leafy rosette the first season and produces seed in the second season
Sow caraway straight into the spot it will keep, because that long taproot has no patience for being lifted and moved. Set the seed in early spring once the soil is workable, or in early fall, and watch for the first sprouts in one to three weeks. Through its opening season the plant fills out into a leafy rosette, then holds back its flowers and seed for the second year.
Myths
Caraway and cumin are the same spice.
The Persian cumin nickname is what starts the confusion, yet caraway stands on its own as Carum carvi, while the true cumin in your rack is Cuminum cyminum. The seeds are shaped differently and the flavors part ways, so one will never quietly fill in for the other at the table.
Caraway is completely harmless to pets.
ASPCA records caraway as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. Its carvone and limonene oils can set off mild vomiting and diarrhea, so the plant and the harvested seed are best stored well beyond a pet's reach.