Seeds used as spices to flavor foods played a prominent role in the origins of agriculture. Some have been used for over eight millennia, and the flavors we savor today are much like what pre-pottery Neolithic people used to add interest to their meals. Mustard and cumin made frequent appearances in ancient diets, and sesame was among the earliest oil crops.
When you plant these spice seeds, you hold the evolutionary history of thousands of years of collaboration between humans and nature — and also your own culinary future — in your hands.
Growing Seed Spices
Seed spices are generally the easiest spices to grow. You’ll have the best success growing spice seeds from a respected seed saver working in your region or in a climate similar to yours. (Planting seeds from your spice rack will not give good results.) A key difference between growing spices and herbs is the time to harvest. Whereas herbs grown for their leaves can be ready to harvest in mere weeks, spice plants used for their seeds can take four months or longer to reach harvest.
While you can grow seed spices indoors, yields are typically low. Annual seed spices grow best in spring and early summer. Unless you have moderate winters, fall planting isn’t ideal because of decreasing daylight hours and smaller pollinator populations. For biennial or perennial spices, late-summer planting works as long as plant root systems have time to mature before cold weather
