When to plant

• Start seeds indoors about 8 weeks before planting out.
• Plant outdoors about 1 week after your average last spring frost.
• Ready to harvest about 70 days after planting out.

Sweeter cousin of oregano. Grown as an annual below zone 9.

Frost dates depend on where you live. Enter your ZIP code to get exact dates.

Dates by zone: 3a 3b 4a 4b 5a 5b 6a 6b 7a 7b 8a 8b 9a 9b 10a 10b

Growing basics

Harmful to pets. Can upset cats' and dogs' stomachs if they eat much of it.

Sun

Full sun (6+ hours)

Spacing

8–10 in

Soil temperature

At least 60°F

Time to harvest

About 70 days

Containers

At least 1 gallons

Plant family

Mint family (herbs)

Harvest per plant

About 0.2 lb

Seeds keep

About 3 years

Companions

Keep apart: Horseradish. Horseradish spreads aggressively. Give it its own spot.

Keep apart: Mint. Mint spreads aggressively into neighbors. Keep it in a pot.

Keep apart: Fennel (bulb). Fennel slows the growth of most garden plants. Grow it on its own.

Keep apart: Sunchoke (Jerusalem artichoke). Sunchokes spread aggressively and shade neighbors.

Grow it well

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