Caraway

Caraway: plant 25 cm (10 in) apart in the row and 45 cm (18 in) between rows, 4 per square. No known bad neighbours.

Key facts

Spacing in the row	25 cm (10 in)
Between rows	45 cm (18 in)
In a 30 cm (1 ft) square	4 per square
Sun	Full sun, 6–8 hours a day
Root depth	25 cm (10 in)
Height when grown	60 cm (24 in)
Crop rotation group	Herbs, flowers and perennials
Support	None needed

Sowing and germination

How it is started	Sown straight into the bed
Seeds per hole	3
Plants kept after thinning	1
Seeds per metre of row	15
Sowing depth	1.5 cm (0.6 in)
Soil temperature	from 10 °C, best 16–22 °C
Days to emerge	10–18 days
Light while germinating	Needs darkness, cover well
Before sowing	nothing needed
When to sow	Indoors 6 weeks before the last frost; outdoors after the last frost; soil at least 12 °C

From seedling to plant

Pricking out	sown where it grows
Takes transplanting	Badly, sow where it grows
Hardening off	7–10 days
Life cycle	Perennial
Cold tolerance	Hardy, takes hard frost
Soil	Light, sandy, free draining, pH 6–7.5
In a pot	5 L, 20 cm (7.9 in)
Watering	Water when the soil is dry two fingers down
Feeding	Little; at planting
Support and training	None needed; pinch the tips

Harvest and planning

Days to first harvest	0.9–1.1 years, from sowing
Ready when	The pods rattle when dry
Harvest window	All at once, 2–3 weeks
Typical yield	0.1–0.1 kg per plant
Botanical family	Apiaceae
Watch out for	Aphids, carrot fly
First crop after	2 years
Pollination	Fruits on its own

Plan Caraway in your garden

Open the free planner, drop Caraway onto a bed and see how many plants fit.

Start Planning Your Garden

Sowing and harvest

Sow outdoors	Apr–May
Harvest	Jul–Aug

My dates for this crop

My country Last spring frost where I live

Give the date once and this page, the sowing calendar and the planner all follow it.

Months for a temperate climate: about a month later in the north and a month earlier in the south. Give your own last frost date for exact dates.

What to plant next to Caraway →

From the same family

Plants of the Apiaceae family share diseases and pests, so they follow each other in the rotation only after a break.

Grown much the same way

Crops that need about the same room and care, from another family.

What to plant after Caraway

Crops that still have time to grow on the same spot once it is lifted, from another rotation group.

Sources

The values on this page marked as checked come from these sources: spacing, sowing depth, germination, soil, timing and safety notes, each against the source named here.

Culinary Use and Culture of Herbs (from the California Master Gardener Handbook; R10/2019) — UC Cooperative Extension, Master Gardeners of Orange County for: between rows, spacing in the row; checked 2026-10-30

More in Herbs and flowers

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