How to Plant Cumin Seeds

Cumin seeds are used whole or ground when cooking.

An annual culinary herb, cumin is grown for its aromatic and flavorful seeds. Add cumin to either your indoor or outdoor herb garden by planting the herb from seeds. Growing cumin from seed is less expensive than purchasing nursery seedlings, and seedlings may be difficult to find in some areas. Cumin is a warm-season plant so start the seeds indoors eight weeks before your last expected spring frost. This allows the plant enough time to reach maturity and produce an abundance of seeds for harvest.

Things You'll Need

• Pots
• Potting soil
• Seeds
• Plastic bag

Instructions

1. Fill a 2- to 3-inch diameter seedling pot with potting soil. Leave a 1/4-inch space between the top of the pot and the soil surface.

2. Sow two cumin seeds per pot, planting them 1/2 inch deep. Water the soil until it is evenly moist throughout immediately after planting.

3. Cover the pots with a plastic bag, then set the pots in a warm room to germinate. Germination usually occurs within seven to 10 days of planting.

4. Remove the plastic bag once sprouts appear. Move the pot to a warm, sunny window and water as needed to keep the soil moist but not soggy.

5. Thin the cumin plants to one per pot once they grow in their second set of leaves. Pluck out the smaller, weaker seedling and leave the strongest plant in each pot.

6. Transplant the cumin seedlings to a well-drained, full-sun garden bed once all danger of frost is past in spring. Plant seedlings in the bed at the same depth they were at in their nursery pots, spacing the plants 6 to 8 inches apart.

Tips & Warnings

• Plant the seeds in plantable peat pots. Cumin doesn't always tolerate transplanting so a plantable pot minimizes root disturbance.

References

• Ohio State University Extension: Plant Propagation
• Purdue Extension: Cumin