WHAT DO YOU SAY we discover increasing our herb-gardening efforts to incorporate some goodies to fill these jars within the spice rack, too? Most of us have most likely grown cilantro, as an illustration, with its distinctive-tasting shiny inexperienced foliage, however I think few of us have harvested coriander seed, the opposite attainable crop that very same species of plant can yield.
Sarah Kleeger of Adaptive Seeds has been including coriander and numerous different spice-rack potentialities to her backyard, farm and seed catalog, like anise (above, in flower) and caraway and extra, all vegetation which are additionally decorative and beloved by the creatures she calls “our backyard buddies,” from useful bugs to birds.
In 2009, Sarah Kleeger and Andrew Nonetheless (pictured under; photograph by Shawn Linehan) based Adaptive Seeds, their certified-organic, farm-based seed firm close to Candy Residence, Ore., whose mission is to steward uncommon, numerous, and resilient seed varieties for ecologically minded farmers, gardeners, and seed savers.
All their varieties are open-pollinated and tailored to the Pacific Northwest and different short-season Northern climates, together with picks of some garden-grown spice rack favorites which are our subject as we speak, together with some uncommon leafy inexperienced herbs it’s possible you’ll not have tried, both.
Learn alongside as you take heed to the Feb. 16, 2026 version of my public-radio present and podcast utilizing the participant under. You’ll be able to subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts right here).
spice-rack herbs from seeds, with sarah kleeger
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Margaret Roach: Welcome again to this system, Sarah, all the best way from Oregon [laughter]. And as I form of alluded to within the introduction, most of us develop herbs—basil and dill and cilantro and parsley and such. However in terms of the seeds that fill lots of these jars within the spice rack, possibly not a lot. What received you began occupied with these?
Sarah Kleeger: Nicely, I imply, as a seed grower, every part I develop is for seed. In order that’s simply form of my background, and I’m at all times taking a look at issues from the seed perspective. So we began including some mustard seed simply from common leafy inexperienced mustard—not the yellow mustard—however including that to our pantry.
And as you talked about, I believe cilantro/coriander is one which’s very simple and doubtless an entry degree form of spice for folks so as to add. And that one’s in simply so many various cuisines that it’s form of a no brainer. After which simply form of each couple of years including extra to that. There’s simply actually a variety of alternative on the market that we will develop in temperate gardens. Not all issues, in fact, however …
Margaret: Proper. Now you advised me not too long ago in an e-mail that these vegetation aren’t simply scrumptious, which in fact is a part of the attraction, however they produce other qualities that you simply’ve come to treasure. And as I stated within the intro, you stated they attraction to “our backyard buddies.” So inform us a bit bit about that—and their different form of traits that make them good backyard topics, not only for seed farming.
Sarah: Proper. Nicely, so a variety of the spices and the spice rack, they’re within the Umbelliferae household, they’re carrot relations. And so their flowers are these nice compound form of umbrellas of many, many little small flowers and so they can bloom over a protracted time frame. They usually’re simply actually interesting to not solely honeybees, but additionally a number of smaller pollinators like syrphid flies and sweat bees and ones that aren’t essentially as in style or well-known, however which are actually essential ecologically.
So the dill is one other one, together with the cilantro, that’s like… Numerous gardeners develop this for the herb, for the leafy inexperienced half. However then if we let it go to flower and past, then we’re gifted with, and likewise our backyard buddies [laughter] are gifted with, a supply of forage and shelter and all of those different issues. And in addition, I believe they’re fairly stunning, particularly the stacking, and so they develop totally different heights in comparison with different backyard vegetation.
So yeah, it’s actually form of superb. And we’ve been rising. So dill and cilantro, fairly apparent. Caraway [above] is one other one which’s in that household, not fairly as flashy, however nonetheless has that very same form of flower sort. After which fennel, in fact, which these vegetation get actually tall. And in our backyard, wasps are what are principally pollinating our fennel. And when you begin early within the spring, then there’s this sort of development via the season the place there can at all times be one thing flowering there, as a result of consistency with the nectaries can also be essential for useful bugs.
Margaret: The cilantro, once more, simple to develop and fairly fast. I at all times do successions as a result of it doesn’t final ceaselessly; I sow it a few occasions throughout the season. However for getting seed, you may have a specific selection—it’s not the identical green-leaved varieties that you simply’re itemizing to develop as cilantro. You might have one which’s particularly for seed, you’ve chosen it or you may have recognized it as a great seed-producing selection, sure?
Sarah: Proper. Yeah. It’s ‘Kanchanaburi’ coriander [above], and that’s a range that we picked up in Thailand, and it was chosen not by us, however by the generations of seed stewards that got here earlier than. And its seed is just a bit bit larger, and a bit bit extra flavorful. It’s received that form of lemony undertones that could be a fairly essential flavoring in Thai delicacies, and so they get it in all types of locations. However yeah, so it goes to seed a bit bit extra rapidly and makes the bigger seeds versus specializing in the vegetative progress like most cilantro has been.
Margaret: When roughly do you get seed from that? How far into the season are you from, say, a spring sowing?
Sarah: Gosh, that’s an excellent query. I believe a variety of it depends upon the timing while you’re planting it. So we plant nearly all of our seed crops once we plant just about our entire farm [laughter], which is over a two-week interval within the second half of Might. And that’s principally as a result of that’s when our soil may be labored. After which the cilantro and coriander seeds are ones that are available in August most likely. So yeah, I don’t have the particular days to maturity, however it’s a little faster. The ‘Kanchanaburi’ coriander one is a bit bit quicker to make seed.
Margaret: And so then one other taste that individuals both like or don’t like, identical to cilantro and coriander, however you may have anise; Pimpinella is the genus, I suppose. And that’s one other one, folks in Italian cookies and plenty of totally different, particularly such as you talked about within the catalog, I believe specialty liqueurs, like ouzo, proper? [Laughter.] In order that form of licorice-y form of taste. I don’t know that I’ve seen it rising, however yeah, in order that’s one other one. And the way about that one?
Sarah: Yeah, I imply, that’s the one which made me be like, “Oh, Margaret, we received to speak about spice racks and pollinators,” as a result of that is one which we’ve simply began to develop extra not too long ago.” And really, I’m glad to listen to you say at first, “anise,” due to course there may be [pronounces it differently, “ah-NIECE”].
Margaret: [Laughter.] I do know. I don’t know. I’ve at all times stated anise, no matter. I’m in Camp Anise additionally; that’s two of us.
Sarah: However yeah, this previous yr once we grew it, it was our second time rising it. And the vegetation aren’t fairly as showy, however we have been strolling via the gardens and located there’s an anise swallowtail butterfly that’s native to a variety of the West Coast, and their fats caterpillars have been simply throughout this plant. And we’ve tiger swallowtails as one other swallowtail that we’ve right here, and so they’re pretty frequent. And I, as much as that second, was unaware that we additionally had the anise swallowtails. And so was like, oh, this can be a nursery crop for a extremely stunning form of particular native species of butterfly as properly. And to the purpose that they’re referred to as anise swallowtails [caterpillar, above]. I believe in addition they go for fennel.
Margaret: Proper. However when you plant it, they may come. It’s form of attention-grabbing. It’s the weirdest, proper? How do they discover it? However they do.
Sarah: Yeah, no, I imply, it was unbelievable. And it’s an plentiful seed-yielder, particularly for the way a lot I take advantage of it within the backyard or within the kitchen, which isn’t that a lot, if I’m being trustworthy, however it’s a plant that I’m going to develop yearly now, now that I do know that we’ve this backyard good friend who form of prefers it. And I wish to do what I can in my gardens and in my fields to encourage the biodiversity of not solely vegetation, proper, but additionally the animals and bugs and all people else.
Margaret: Proper. So anise, that’s one other one. I believe within the catalog itemizing, it says that’s a 75-day annual. That one is an annual.
Sarah: Sure, it’s. Most of those are annual. And in order that’s, I believe one other attention-grabbing and form of enjoyable a part of it. If we’re taking a look at herbs, these are extra perennial and fairly fabulous. You’ll be able to simply plant it as soon as and seize your rosemary at any time when you-
Margaret: Proper. And thyme and oregano and this sort of … Proper, proper.
Sarah: Yeah. However these are all annuals. And when you do plant them and you then take them to the spice rack, you then additionally conveniently have your seed for replanting the subsequent season.
Margaret: Oh, that’s true. Oh, that’s humorous. That’s like harvesting beans as dry beans after which saying, “Ooh, I’ve received some beans left from final yr’s harvest. I believe I’ll plant them.” One crop, two functions.
Sarah: Precisely. When the seed is the crop, that’s our favourite anyway.
Margaret: And so then additionally you form of branched out into caraway as properly; you’re rising caraway. And I believe that’s often a biennial, isn’t it?
Sarah: I believe it often is, however we discovered one which’s been extra chosen for annual manufacturing.
Margaret: Ah, good. Yeah.
Sarah: It did take us a few years to get the timing proper and the spacing. However yeah, the caraway is one which we’re now in a position to get a fairly reliable yield from. And caraway and the anise and dill, they’re smaller vegetation, to allow them to truly be spaced a lot nearer collectively and due to this fact create a extra visually interesting, denser form of association or no matter within the backyard. After which additionally the yield is healthier.
Margaret: They’re white-flowered? Are they white-flowered?
Sarah: Yeah, they’re. Virtually all of those are white, form of lacy, nearly like Queen Anne’s lace or wildflower-looking with simply totally different sizes.
Margaret: And I don’t want a 40-foot row or one thing to get sufficient, as a result of once more, we’re utilizing these with anise, as an illustration, it’s not like I would like 10 kilos.
Sarah: Precisely. With the anise, our first yr, we grew possibly 5 toes within the backyard, which is possibly loads on a backyard scale. After which we’ve received 3 cups of this seed. And I made biscochitos. Have you learnt the cookie? It’s the state cookie of New Mexico. It was form of a shortbread cookie with lard I believe as a key ingredient. I made it with butter. It didn’t come out fairly proper, however flavored with anise after which with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on the highest and it was 3 teaspoons or one thing. Proper. So a bit bit goes a good distance and so they’re actually yummy.
Margaret: After which I used to be stunned additionally to see one which I had by no means heard of its culinary properties. I do know Nigella I suppose it’s damascena, love-in-a-mist flower, that I’ve grown as a decorative, had self-sow across the edges of the backyard and so forth. However I didn’t know that it had a cousin [laughter], a unique species, Nigella sativa. I didn’t know there was one which was culinary, in order that was attention-grabbing.
Sarah: Yeah. It’s the culinary nigella, it’s often known as blackseed [above, pods and seed], and it’s in a variety of simply Center Japanese and South Asian cooking. And it’s used on flatbreads and naans and as a meals topping sprinkled on prime and in stir fries. And it’s actually received a variety of, I believe, dietary qualities. It’s stated to be immune-boosting, too, historically, nevertheless it’s stunning identical to the common backyard nigella, though it holds its seed barely extra tightly so it doesn’t shatter; just like the common backyard nigella tends to fling its seed round this one.
Margaret: It does do this, doesn’t it? [Laughter.]
Sarah: Proper. You plant it as soon as and also you’ve received it. However yeah, the culinary nigella, it’s a bit bit smaller vegetation, however yeah, simply as stunning. It’s in fact not one of many umbels. So the flowers are a bit bit totally different, however additionally it is one which’s like, it’s fairly stunning and pollinators take pleasure in it as properly. And yeah, simple to develop, particularly when you’re utilizing it in form of small sprinkle-on-the-top form of portions.
Margaret: Nicely, and never that many issues have blue flowers, proper? So blue is a shade some folks actually like, and that might be an attraction, too, sure? Now, do these all get to those that we’ve talked about thus far, are we direct-sowing these or are we beginning them indoors? What’s your recommendation with that?
Sarah: It’s a bit of this and a bit of that. I believe we positively direct-sow the dill and cilantro and the nigella, simply because they’re planted at such a density that transplanting doesn’t actually make that a lot sense. You’d have to simply be burying one million vegetation proper subsequent to one another. However we’ve been transplanting the anise and the caraway and naturally the fennel. And that’s partially to get a bit little bit of a bounce on the season and on the weeds in our area [laughter]. If we will translate one thing, we have a tendency to try this simply because there’s much less slug stress and weed stress for positive.
Margaret: Yeah. Oh, completely. So then it’s humorous, I additionally noticed that you simply’re rising sesame. And only a week or two in the past, I had talked to folks that you simply additionally know, Dylana Kapuler and Mario DiBenedetto at Peace Seedlings. They usually have been speaking about sesame, and dealing on sesame, because it’s actually a heat-lover, it’s I suppose subtropical or one thing like that, technically, in its origins, and attempting to make a Northern pressure or no matter you’ll name it, a Northern choice of it. And also you’re doing that, too. You’re eager about sesame, too. Have you ever been having enjoyable with that?
Sarah: Yeah, it’s been actually nice. I believe we have been partially impressed by them. We had tried to develop sesame years in the past and simply failed outright after which visited with these guys in 2024, I suppose, and so they gave us the key to success of develop it. There’s in a single half the germplasm, the seeds that you simply’re beginning with, being tailored. However then there are additionally a few totally different methods. So we began with their Shades of Sesame that they talked about, which is absolutely nice. After which additionally labored with some folks at Oregon State College who had accessed some Northern-adapted sesame germplasm from USDA GRIN—the germplasm repository—and carried out a bit little bit of choice with stuff that they received out of Russia, principally. So we grew all of them collectively and form of did one other choice, primarily based on what grew properly from that.
And yeah, sesame is nice. It’s one other one which I believe I wish to develop much more of, as a result of it’s such a excessive nutritious crop which you can develop on the backyard scale. And in addition they’re simply so fairly. The flowers are form of like foxglove flowers nearly.
Margaret: Sure. You stated they’re harking back to tobacco or foxglove [above].
So simply to detour a bit bit and take a while to speak about among the different form of herbs that you simply supply that I believe folks ought to make room for, and possibly they don’t [laughter]. I really like that you’ve got lovage, a perennial herb. I imply, I’ve had my lovage plant, I don’t know, 25 years or one thing like that, I imply no less than. And it’s simply this pleasant creature and by no means offers up, simply retains producing form of celery-ish taste. However you may have some attention-grabbing ones that I don’t actually find out about, like this plant referred to as Alexanders [Smyrnium olusatrum], I believe. Is that what it’s referred to as?
Sarah: Yeah, Alexanders [above]. It’s attention-grabbing that it’s not as well-known. And that is truly one other plant that got here from Alan Kapuler, I believe, is how we all know it to have been launched into our form of native gardening scene. And it’s not a perennial, it’s like a biennial or triennial form of factor, however it’s one other form of historical herb that goes again to historical Romans used it, and it may be discovered all through a variety of Europe. And it’s actually received this pleasant celery, nearly parsley—there’s some floral notes to it—form of a taste. And it’s one in all these vegetation that when you get it established, when you let it go to seed, it’ll self-sow readily and form of at all times be current within the backyard. However it’s one other one as a result of it’s in that umbel household that its flowers are yellow, nevertheless it is also one other form of haven for the useful bugs as properly.
Margaret: I believe you may have lovage [above] within the catalog, too, which isn’t an herb precisely. I take advantage of it to make soup—and excuse me, not lovage, sorry, lovage I already talked about. I imply sorrel [below]. Sorrel, I eat it like a salad as properly. It’s scrumptious, like lemonish, proper?
Sarah: Proper. Yeah. The sorrel’s very lemony.
Margaret: Yeah. Is that one thing that individuals … Is it in style with folks? I imply, do you guys take pleasure in it? I like it. And that I should have had 30 years. I imply, it’s a patch; it’s been rising for 30 years, a perennial [laughter].
Sarah: They usually simply care for themselves. I imply, I believe we’ve one, we’ve a patch as properly, and it’s one thing that we positively… folks purchase it. The culinary use, I believe, of sorrel and a few different of our perennial greens, they’ve this specific time of yr after they actually shine. And after they’re priceless within the backyard and within the kitchen is form of this early spring the place they’ve this lush progress early on, earlier than any of your annual backyard issues get going. And it’s identical to, “Oh, a contemporary inexperienced factor.”
And I’ve been on an actual salad kick these days. I’ve been consuming principally chicories, however I’ve nearly completed them. And so in a stroll within the backyard as we speak, the sorrel is up; the leaves are a few inches lengthy. After which we’ve received the sculpit is one other one, or Silene inflata that tastes lettucey, and can also be I believe often called bladder campion—it has these little balloon form of flowers. That’s good in salads.
Margaret: Within the final minute then or so, simply any others that you simply wish to say, “You understand what? Give this a attempt since you most likely by no means heard of it, however … ” [Laughter.]
Sarah: I imply, I actually simply wish to plug: Endurance dock [Rumex patientia] [above] is a brand new one which we added this yr. It’s a dock, proper? So we’ve yellow dock in our backyard or area that’s weedy, however Endurance dock is native to Central and Japanese Europe. It’s a perennial leafy inexperienced, and it actually tastes simply similar to a light spinach. And once more, it’s one thing that fills that early season.
Margaret: Oh, I’ll go search for that one, too.
Sarah: And in addition it’s actually nice in a form of permaculture setting, like beneath fruit timber and a decrease story, as a result of it grows early within the spring after which it’s form of carried out every part it must by June. So then in case your fruit timber are leafing out, then-
Margaret: Excellent companions. Nicely, Sarah Kleeger of Adaptive Seeds, thanks a lot for making time. And I’m going to look now at these different ones, too; I didn’t discover a few of these, in order that’s nice. Thanks. And I hope I’ll discuss to you once more quickly.
Sarah: Yeah, likewise. Thanks a lot, Margaret. Take care.
(All images from the Adaptive Seeds web site.)
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