How to Grow Caraways Canada

By the SoilCommander Editorial Team, under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder · · How we check our facts

On this page
  1. Caraway (Carum carvi)
  2. Quick Facts
  3. Soil & Growing Conditions
  4. Growth Stages
  5. Harvest & Storage
  6. Caraway, Grown for its Aromatic Seed
  7. Plan your Caraways planting
  8. What the research guides add
  9. Caraway in Canada: climate data
  10. Growing Caraway in another region
  11. Sources

Caraway (Carum carvi) — biennial.

Core growing advice on this page is checked against named horticultural sources — see References.

Caraway (Carum carvi)

Dried caraway seeds — “Kümmel 2012-07-08-9523” by Slick is licensed under CC0.

3 sources cited · Verified

Quick Facts

Dried caraway seeds — “Kümmel 2012-07-08-9523” by Slick is licensed under CC0.
“Kümmel 2012-07-08-9523” by Slick is licensed under CC0.
Factor Value
Soil texture clay or loam, prefers light fertile soil (RHS)
Drainage well-drained
Lifecycle biennial
Edible parts seeds

Soil & Growing Conditions

Caraway plants flowering in a field beside a fence — “Carum carvi 15-p.bot-carum.carvi-28” by Ayotte, Gilles, 1948- is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Carum carvi 15-p.bot-carum.carvi-28” by Ayotte, Gilles, 1948- is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Water: well-drained, tolerates heavier soils (RHS)

Growth Stages

Close-up of caraway's finely divided feathery foliage — “Carum carvi 15-p.bot-carum.carvi-33” by Ayotte, Gilles, 1948- is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Carum carvi 15-p.bot-carum.carvi-33” by Ayotte, Gilles, 1948- is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Stage BBCH Notes
Sowing 0 Sow seed directly; transplant seedlings only while small to avoid premature bolting, as the plant dislikes transplanting (RHS).
Foliage growth (year one) 3 Develops finely divided, aromatic foliage in its first year as a biennial (RHS).
Flowering (year two) 6 Small white flowers appear in umbels in its second year (RHS).
Seed set and harvest 8 Leave plants to set seed; harvest the strongly aromatic fruits once ripe (RHS).

Harvest & Storage

Close-up of a caraway flower umbel — “Carum carvi 15-p.bot-carum.carvi-10” by Ayotte, Gilles, 1948- is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Carum carvi 15-p.bot-carum.carvi-10” by Ayotte, Gilles, 1948- is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to pick: Leave plants to set seed; harvest the strongly aromatic fruits (seeds) once ripe, the plant's primary culinary product (RHS).

Plan your Caraways planting

When to sow and plant Caraways depends on your own frost dates. Check the Canada vegetable planting calendar. To work out where it fits in your beds, sketch your plot in the free Garden Layout Planner.

What the research guides add

A caraway plant
A caraway plant. Photo by Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Caraway is a biennial, so the seed comes in the second year, and NC State adds some useful plant-partner advice.

  • An edible biennial in the carrot family that grows 1 to 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide and prefers full sun to light shade in moist, well-drained soil; it tolerates a pH range of 4.8 to 7.6. (NC State Extension)
  • Plants in full sun are richer in essential oils and so more aromatic. (NC State Extension)
  • Established plants have deep roots and do not tolerate root disturbance, but often self-sow freely. (NC State Extension)
  • It does not do well growing near fennel or wormwood but is a good companion for most plants, especially shallow-rooted ones. Watch for carrot root fly, aphids and parsley worms. (NC State Extension)

Caraway in Canada: climate data

Station Last spring frost First fall frost Frost-free days
Edmonton, AB 24 May 12 Sep 110
Winnipeg, MB 23 May 22 Sep 121
Charlottetown, PE 16 May 17 Oct 153
Toronto, ON 30 Apr 16 Oct 168
Vancouver, BC 18 Mar 10 Nov 237

Frost dates and frost-free days are the median values for the stations in Environment and Climate Change Canada climate normals with the highest data-quality rating (1981–2010 normals).

Sources for this section

Section researched and checked on 25 October 2026 by the SoilCommander Editorial Team. How we check facts: editorial policy.

Growing Caraway in another region

Sowing dates, frost timing and local advice differ by country. Use the guide for where you garden.

Sources

The full list of 3 sources behind this guide (NC State Extension, Plants For A Future (PFAF), Royal Horticultural Society) is in the references of our UK guide to caraway; they describe the plant itself, which is the same wherever it grows.

Plan next season before the problems start

Short-season growing is arithmetic before it is technique: days to maturity against frost-free days decides what will finish at all. The Canada Garden Planner does that subtraction for your region before you sow.

Get the Canada Garden Planner →

Instant PDF download · Written for Canadian growing conditions

SoilCommander Editorial Team — under the guidance of Nitin Sharma, Co-Founder

Every growing guide is checked against RHS, USDA Cooperative Extension, and other named horticultural authorities before publishing. How we check our facts.

How this guide is put together

The growing data on this page — sowing windows, pests, diseases, soil and site requirements — comes from named horticultural sources, listed in References below, checked against Canadian hardiness-zone and frost-date data, with provincial agriculture and university extension sources cited directly where one exists for a crop. An automated pipeline assembles that verified data into the page you're reading: it selects which facts to lead with and builds the surrounding prose and layout. It does not invent a date, a source or a number — where a verified value for a field isn't available, the page leaves it out rather than guessing. A person reviews and publishes each page; nothing goes live unverified.

Vegetable Growing Guides Canada

Last verified 2026-10-25

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