Herb · Apiaceae
When to plant cumin
Needs three to four months of consistent heat to ripen seed, which puts it out of reach of most temperate gardens without cover.
Start seed indoors
6 weeks before
Counted from your last spring frost.
Plant out
2 weeks after
Counted from your last spring frost.
Sow direct
2 weeks after
Counted from your last spring frost.
Those weeks become real dates once you name a place.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
Seed packets rarely give calendar dates, because a date that suits one latitude is wrong at another. They give offsets from the last spring frost instead, and those offsets are what make cumin plantable anywhere.
- Start seed indoors 6 weeks before the last frost.
- Plant out 2 weeks after the last frost.
- Sow direct 2 weeks after the last frost.
- Expect 100–130 days to maturity, counted from sowing.
Frost tolerance
No frost tolerance. Killed at 0C.
Classified as tender, with damage expected below 0°C (32°F)32°F (0°C).