Herb · Apiaceae
Caraway
Carum carvi
Hand it full sun and a patient first year, and caraway pays you back with fragrant seed the next.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
50–77°F · 10–25°C
70–90 days
Overview
Caraway is a tough biennial herb in the carrot family, grown for that warm, lightly anise-flavored seed you'll find tucked into rye bread, cheese, and slow-cooked dishes. It lives on a two-year cycle, putting up a low rosette of feathery leaves the first season and holding its flowers and seed back for the second. Underneath sits a thick, parsnip-like taproot, which is exactly why the plant hates being moved once it has settled in.
The Persian cumin nickname can throw you off, but this is its own plant, Carum carvi, with a flavor that's all its own. It grows easily in cool temperate gardens across USDA zones 4 to 9, and it doesn't ask for much: full sun, steady moisture while the slow seed comes up, and the patience to sit through that first leafy year.
Care
The short version: full sun, fertile well-drained soil leaning toward neutral, and steady moisture while the slow seed germinates, then a patient first leafy year before the seed crop shows up in year two.
Light
Caraway wants full sun if you want it to ripen a decent seed crop, though it'll scrape by in partial sun. The more direct light it soaks up, the sturdier the flowering stems and the bigger the harvest in year two.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist and well drained, and never let it sit waterlogged. The seedbed especially needs to stay damp right through that slow germination, because an early dry spell is the fastest way to lose your stand. Once the plants are up, water every 3 to 7 days, dialing it up or down for heat and rain.
Soil
Set it in fertile, well-drained loam packed with organic matter. Caraway likes things near neutral, somewhere around pH 6.0 to 7.5, and a deep, loose bed gives that long taproot room to run straight down.
Temperature
This is a cool-temperate herb, happiest between roughly 50°F and 77°F (10°C to 25°C). It takes the cold of zones 4 to 9 in stride, overwintering as a rosette so it can bloom the next year.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity of 40% to 60% suits caraway just fine, so there's really no number to obsess over. What counts more than any gauge reading is good airflow moving around the plants.
Feeding
Caraway is a light feeder, so a balanced fertilizer or a bit of compost in spring while it's actively growing is all it needs. Keep a light hand with nitrogen, which only pushes soft leafy growth at the cost of the seed you're really after.
Pruning
Not much happens on this front. Trim off the spent flower and seed heads once you've harvested, deadhead if you'd rather it didn't self-seed everywhere, and be careful not to knock around the central taproot crown as you go.
Repotting
Caraway hardly ever needs repotting and resents root disturbance, so direct-sow it right where it'll grow instead of transplanting. If you do want it in a container, go with a deep one and steer clear of breaking up that taproot.
Size & spacing
Plants stretch to 12 to 30 inches (30 to 75 cm) tall once the flowering stems shoot up in year two. Leave each one about 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) of space so the air can move and the rosettes aren't bunched together.
When to plant
Caraway runs on a two-year clock, so settle in for the long game. Direct sow in spring the moment the soil can be worked, or jump the line a bit with an early fall sowing. It spends the first year settling in and growing leaves, then blooms in late spring of the second year 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 laid-back herb, and most of what goes wrong turns up either down at the taproot or as patchy, sluggish germination right at the start. Find what matches below and act early, while stepping in still counts for something.
Stunted plants with rusty tunnels in the taproot
When a plant stalls and the taproot is shot through with rusty-brown tunnels, you're looking at carrot root fly. The larvae chew into the root and drag down the whole plant, and if you dig one up you'll spot the winding tunnels along with small white maggots. Pull and destroy anything that's infested, drape row cover over the rest right from sowing, and shift your Apiaceae crops to a fresh bed every year 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
Few or very slow seedlings after sowing
Caraway takes its time coming up, so a thin, gappy stand usually points to one thing: the seedbed dried out before the seed could sprout, or the seed was simply too old to begin with. Even two to three weeks in, and even in warm soil, you might count only a handful of seedlings. Keep that bed evenly damp until things germinate, don't let the surface bake into a crust, and if the first sowing flops, try again with fresh seed set shallow.
Fix:
- Keep the seedbed consistently moist until germination
- Resow with fresh seed at a shallow depth
- Avoid letting the surface crust over
Leaves chewed and stripped by green caterpillars
Those fat green caterpillars striped with black and yellow? Those are parsley worms, the larvae of the black swallowtail. On a plant that's already established, the damage looks scarier than it actually is. Rather than squashing them, pick them off and shift them to a sacrificial plant, since they turn into pollinators you'll be glad to have around.
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 much-loved kitchen spice, so caraway is perfectly fine on your own plate. For animals, though, the plant is another matter: ASPCA lists it as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, since its carvone and limonene oils can trigger mild vomiting and diarrhea. Keep the fragrant foliage and harvested seed where curious pets can't reach them.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Mild
A nosy cat that takes a few bites of the fragrant leaves might start drooling, then throw up what it ate, with loose stools not far behind. It stays mild and tends to clear up by itself.
Dogs Mild
A dog tempted by the smell can end up with a queasy stomach after gnawing on the leaves or seed, and vomiting and diarrhea are the usual outcome.
Horses Toxic
Those same carvone and limonene oils upset a horse's gut, so if one grazes the plant you can look for drooling, colicky discomfort, and loose droppings.
Rabbits Caution
Strong essential oils throw a rabbit's digestion off easily, so it's better to keep the aromatic leaves out of the feeding routine instead of offering them as forage.
Livestock Caution
Grazing animals usually steer clear of the sharp-smelling foliage, but a big mouthful could trigger the same mild stomach upset that hits the other animals.
Birds Caution
Concentrated plant oils don't sit well with birds, so keep pet birds clear of the foliage and especially that oil-rich seed.
People Edible seeds safe
The ripe seed is a kitchen spice that shows up in bread, cheese, and stews without any problem. Treat it as food rather than dosing on the concentrated oil, and you've got nothing to worry about.
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'll meet is the standard biennial, but a couple of named types are handy to know if you'd like seed faster or a bigger haul.
Annual caraway (var. annua, e.g. 'Sprinter')
Here's the appeal: this one flowers and sets seed in its first season, so you skip the usual wait until year two.
'Arterner'
A German biennial pick chosen for its big yield of both seed and 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 honestly there's just one good way to do it, thanks to that long taproot that won't put up with 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 right where you want it to grow, because that long taproot really doesn't like being moved. Get the seed in during early spring once the soil is workable, or wait for early fall, and watch for sprouts in one to three weeks. The first season it puts up a leafy rosette and holds back its flowers and seed for the second.
Myths
Caraway and cumin are the same spice.
Blame the Persian cumin nickname for the confusion, because caraway is actually its own species, Carum carvi, while true cumin is Cuminum cyminum. The two have differently shaped seeds and a distinct flavor, so swapping one for the other just won't work.
Caraway is completely harmless to pets.
Not so. ASPCA lists caraway as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses. Its carvone and limonene oils can bring on mild vomiting and diarrhea, so keep both the plant and the harvested seed somewhere a pet can't get to.