About Cumin (Cuminum cyminum)
Cumin is one of the flavorings most commonly mistaken for something else, or something else
for it, owing to problems in translation from the languages of the lands where its use and
cultivation are common. It is not much grown, even in home gardens, in the U.S., owing, we
suppose, mainly to two factors: a belief that it cannot be grown outside tropical areas,
and some uncertainty as to its culinary uses.
Cumin is especially frequently confused with caraway, which it also resembles physically
(the "seeds", that is--which are not truly seed but actually the fruit of the plant--not
the plants). But while caraway can substitute for cumin in some dishes, for many
others--in Indian and Mexican cooking, for example--it is essential to have actual cumin.
Cultivars
Despite one expert source's remark that "The three major types of cumin seed on the market,
Iranian, Indian, and Middle Eastern, differ in seed color, quantity of essential oil, and
flavor", there do not appear to be any named varieties available in seedsmen's catalogues.
U.S. seedsmen need to get on the stick as pertains to herbs and spices, and stop offering
generic "no-name" cultivars (or, more likely, unsorted mixes).
(Some sources suggest that there are two distinct sorts of cumin, white-seeded and
black-seeded, but that is probably a fine illustration of the huge and frustrating problems
with terminology with herbs and spices. The quite unrelated plant
Nigella sativa, a
member of the Ranunculaceae, the buttercup family, is commonly called, and sold as,
"black cumin"; and just to add to the fun, other things it is commonly called--besides
"black cumin"--are fennel flower and Roman coriander, despite it's not being any kind of
fennel or coriander. Incidentally, Nigella sativa is perhaps best known as the
flower "Love in the Mist", and is arguably worth growing as a flavoring in its own right.
Oh, yes, there is also Bunium persicum, another quite unrelated plant also known as
"black cumin"--what fun. Caveat emptor!)
Planting
Timing
Many sources casually assert that cumin cannot be reliably grown in the north, but it has
been reported as reliably grown well into Manitoba (and Norway). It appears to be a matter
of timing, the conventional (and doubtless sound) advice being "Sow seed in spring or early
summer when all danger of frost is over and the soil has warmed up." The plant is
frost-tender, can take up to 4 months from seeding to harvest, and likes warm to hot
growing weather.
None of that looks insuperable: if, hereabouts, we sow it in middle May, looking to a
harvest in, at latest, middle September, we should be all right save in the
freakiest of years.
The Bed
The general rule for herb and spice plants is that their soil needs are not demanding, save
that the soil must be very well-drained: few herb or spice plants can stand "wet feet".
The soil should not be particularly rich, most especially not for flavoring plants we
grow for their seed (or fruit), common mis-advice to the contrary notwithstanding: a rich
soil will lower the concentration of the "aromatic oils" that give the seed its
characteristic flavor, which is the very thing we are growing them for. Plants that are
very slightly nutrient-stressed (which doesn't mean starved!) give better-tasting seed.
Cumin apparently fits that description excellently.
Planting Out
Be sure to plant a good number of "seeds", no matter how many plants you think you need,
because you need an at least moderate-sized stand of the plants to keep them more or less
upright (otherwise the disproportionate weight of their seed heads bends them over). And
even if you don't have a deep-dug or raised-bed plot, try to plant your cumin in a block,
not a row.
Sow the "seeds" about ¼ to ½ inch deep where the plants are to grow (like many
herb and spice plants, coriander does not take well to transplanting). The plants should
be spaced quite close together. Keep the soil well moistened till emergence, and even
thereafter.
It would be wise to use row covers at least till all risk of frost is past--say to
middle or even late June.
Growing
Let the seedlings stay quite close together, as that lets them support one another as their
relatively heavy seed heads develop. Water very well: cumin likes a damp climate (but, as
almost always with spices, not "wet feet"). Cumin is said to be "intolerant" of long
periods of dry heat, of which we get our share around here; perhaps some misting would be
wise in such periods.
The availability of honey bees as pollinators will usually improve cumin yields.
Cumin "seeds" notoriously ripen unevenly, so you need to keep a close eye on your crop and
harvest plants individually, lest the heads shatter prematurely. Let each plant grow till
its first set of seeds dries enough to crack when pinched (it can take up to 120 days to
produce mature seed; at that time, cut the plant. Hang cut plants to dry over a
catch-cloth; when they are thoroughly dry, dump them into a holding bag (which you will
later use for threshing them).
When your crop is fully harvested, thresh the lot: beat the holding bag in which you have
collected them against a hard surface to dislodge the seeds. Sift the loose seeds through a
3-inch mesh hardware cloth to remove the chaff. Make absolutely, positively
sure the seeds are thoroughly dried before putting them away for storage (in the
usual manner for dried herbs and spices: an airtight container stored in a dark place,
preferably a cool one).
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