Are you ready to expand your herb garden?
Caraway Seeds are a popular "spice" added to soups, stews, roasted potatoes and even cheese dips. Besides the seeds, caraway leaves are sometimes used as an herb, both fresh and dried, adding them to salads, soups and stews much like parsley. Caraway roots can be eaten similar to parsnips.
From Mary's Heirloom Seeds:
Caraway grows best in full sun, in a well-drained soil which is high in organic matter with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Seed can be sown in spring or early autumn. Caraway should always be direct seeded as seedlings do not transplant well.
Carum carvi (Apiaceae —carrot family)
Caraway is a biennial herd that grows well in Zones 3 to 11. Caraway can tolerate both hot and cold weather and usually produces seeds in it's second year. Caraway flowers in spring and early summer of the second year on 2-foot stems.
Growing Caraway from seed
Caraway can be planted in full sun but can tolerate partial shade.
Caraway seeds germinate in 5 to 14 days under optimal conditions. Sow caraway outdoors in spring or autumn. For an early start, sow caraway in spring as early as the soil can be worked, about the date of the average last frost.
Sow seeds 1/4 deep and keep soil moist.
Caraway does not transplant well so it is best to sow outdoors if possible.
Companion planting with Caraway
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).
