Growing caraway: when, where & how to care for caraway seedlings

Caraway is an ancient spice that is popular in both sweet and savoury dishes. The caraway plant is well deserving of a place in any herb garden. Discover how to grow caraway seedlings.

Caraway (Carum carvi) has been used as a spice and medicinal plant for centuries. It is most commonly known for its caraway seeds. The caraway plant is in the umbellifer family (Apiaceae) and is a biennial that is easy to grow as an addition to any herb bed. Find out all about growing caraway, including location, sowing and how to look after caraway seedlings.

When to sow caraway seeds?

If you are wondering how to grow caraway seeds, the answer is that there are two windows in the year in which to sow them. Caraway can be grown from seed from April onwards, once the ground warms up, as it needs a minimum temperature of 4 °C. Caraway seeds can be sown earlier indoors in a heated environment, and then the caraway seedlings can be planted out after the last frosts, from mid-May onwards. Caraway seeds can also be sown directly outdoors in the ground in autumn. When the seeds are sown at this time, the crop will be ready to harvest next summer.

Where is the best place to grow caraway?

Growing caraway is a fairly simple practice for any home gardener as it will grow in almost any soil. The caraway plant likes full sun but will grow in partial shade and prefers well-drained soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Caraway plants like moderately moist soil and will absolutely thrive in a warm spot with lots of sunshine.

Caraway plants are perfectly suited to growing in pots or containers. Any container will need to be at least 60cm deep and 30cm wide, as caraway plants have long tap roots. When growing caraway in containers, caraway seedlings and plants need good-quality compost in which to grow. A high-calibre potting soil such as our Plantura Organic All Purpose Compost has all the nutrients to help caraway plants grow healthy and strong. Add a layer of gravel or horticultural grit to the bottom of the pot before planting a caraway seedling to increase drainage.

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How to sow caraway seeds?

The best way of sprouting caraway seeds is to sow them directly in the ground, as caraway seedlings do not like their taproot being disturbed. Before sowing the seeds, carefully weed the area and rake it to a fine tilth, removing any stones from the growing site. Work in some garden compost or well-rotted manure into the area to help improve nutrients in the soil.

• Fork over the area to loosen the soil
• Add garden compost or well-rotted manure to the site
• Make drills 1 – 2cm deep in rows 30cm apart
• Finely sow the caraway seeds about 5cm apart
• Cover with soil and water carefully
• Caraway seeds should germinate in around 3 weeks at temperatures between 18 – 20 °C
• Thin caraway seedlings to a final spacing of 30cm apart

Planting caraway seedlings

Caraway seeds can be sown indoors and planted outdoors after the risk of frost has passed. Sow three seeds 1cm deep in a 9cm wide pot and carefully water. Thin to one caraway seedling per pot as they grow. Plant out carefully when it is about 7cm tall. It is best to plant them out early in their lives, before the root can be seen growing out the bottom of the pot, to prevent damage to the taproot. One alternative idea is to grow caraway seedlings in the cardboard tube of a toilet roll. Sow 3 seeds per tube and gradually thin to one caraway seedling. Then, plant out the caraway seedling with the tube in the garden to avoid disturbing the root.

Plant care: tips on fertilising and watering

Water caraway seedlings regularly while they are growing, especially during warmer summer months. This is especially important if you are growing caraway in containers. Regularly hoe around the plants and between the rows to reduce competition from unwanted plants. Feed caraway plants with a liquid fertiliser a few times throughout the growing months. An excellent fertilising regime is vital if the caraway plants are growing in pots, where they can quickly use up the nutrients available. We recommend using a liquid tomato fertiliser such as our Plantura Liquid Tomato Food, as it is high in potassium for setting flowers and easy to apply when watering.

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Tip: caraway plants sown in April need to be pruned in autumn.

Companion plants

There are a lot of good options for caraway companion plants. It is indeed a plant that grows well with most vegetables. In particular, caraway plants are a good companion to peas (Pisum sativum), tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum), broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica), cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata), kale (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group), chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris var. flavescens or cicla) and strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa). However, other umbelliferous plants such as carrots (Daucus carota), dill (Anethum graveolens) and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) are not good caraway companion plants.

Swiss chard is one of those plants that grows well with caraway. It is a plant that is rich in vitamins and growing in popularity among UK vegetable growers. If you want to try growing chard, check out our article on this fantastic leafy crop.