Chamomile, German (Matricaria recutita) seeds, organic
$3.95 – $49.10
Family: Aster (Asteracea)
Self-seeding annual, 90 days to harvest
(German Chamomile, Manzanilla) Annual or overwintering annual native to Europe. This is the delightfully aromatic Chamomile of tea fame. Traditional usage (TWM): stomachic, sedative. Plant prefers full sun and cool garden soils for germination. Prepare a fine seed bed, mix fine seed with sand, strew on surface and press in hard. Sow in early spring for flowers by early summer. It should be unnecessary to thin the plants, they grow fine in close association.
Packet contains 500 seeds
1 g contains ~7,500 seeds
5 g contains ~37,500 seeds
10 g contains ~75,000 seeds
Certified Organically Grown
Question
james.magnus.bacon (verified owner) –
Hi Richo!
Garden season is here, woohoo!
I’m in dry Denver and last season I had my first ever success with a large chamomile bed (from your seeds) and I loved it. I just learned the trick is to not let the seed bed dry out! I utilized a “blueberry rake” for harvesting and it worked wonderfully (the chamomile rakes were waaaay too expensive).
So I have a question about whether to reseed or not this year – I noticed in the pathway next to the bed there are extensive spots of chamomile germination present but I don’t see any in the actual chamomile bed at this point.
I didn’t clear the chamomile debris from last year and I plan to this week – but I am turning on some irrigation soon and wondering if I should do a new bed prep & reseed this year or not (I did purchase an extra 1g seed packet last year but I didn’t end up needing it).
I have about 1/8-1/4 acre mini urban farm and grow 80% medical herbs for tea and would definitely appreciate the chamomile bed again this year.
Any tips or thoughts offered are greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much for your work!
(0) (0) Watch Unwatch
Richo Cech –
hi james, thanks for writing, and thanks for the up note. You’d enjoy page 216 of “Growing Plant Medicine” where we really get into the specifics of chamomile (or manzanilla, the little apple as they call it in Spanish). Anyhoo its coming up in the pathways because you’re tamping there (assumedly with your feet). it’ll come up in the bed, too, if you tamp the bed. You might try mixing your leftover seed with sand and strewing it on the bed first, then tamp securely with palms of hands, and like you said keep it moist, just to be sure. Yes, tea companies sell an inferior product. Home growers and careful medicine makers and some of the high-end tea companies and tincture manufacturers will use the flower (and by that I mean the ray flower and the disc together) for their products. The difference is the difference between a mild taste and a powerfully calmative herb. It is a big difference. Richo
(2) (0)
Question
Laura Scott (verified owner) –
Hi Richo. What do you mean by a “fine seed bed” as in ‘prepare a fine seed bed’… Thanks a bunch.
Laura
(0) (0) Watch Unwatch
Richo Cech –
hi laura, thanks for writing! it means to rake out the clumps so that there is good seed/soil contact. very fine seeds like this need a fine seed bed. perhaps consider getting a copy of “growing plant medicine” where these things are better discussed. richo
(0) (0)
Laura Scott (verified owner) –
Thanks for the speedy reply! Growing Plant Medicine is next on the docket for my library! I have Making Plant Medicine and Growing At Risk Plants so far: both of which have been very helpful. Making Plant Medicine is very well used and loved, in fact, and I learned how to plant Goldenseal and Panax quinqefolius from the other one. I am eagerly awaiting the the spring melt off and a trip out in to the woods where I planted last fall!
(0) (0)
Richo Cech –
hi laura, excellent, please keep up the good work, our ginseng seed sowing is beginning to show here in southern oregon, and the blue cohosh is breaking through, but still no sign of goldenseal. it won’t be long now. richo
(0) (0)
Question
normasceales (verified owner) –
Hi Richo,
What kind of sand do I need a specific name for mixing?
(0) (0) Watch Unwatch
Richo Cech –
hi norma, actually any fine sand except for salty sea sand is fine. I have even made do with sifting potting soil through a fine sieve (like a #6 seed screen) and using that to stretch the seed. you could even work it into some fine peat moss or coir. richo
(0) (0)
Adria Daniels (verified owner) –
I’m in northern New Hampshire and was unsure when to start these babies. I sowed them the last week of April and within 8 days looks like close to 100% germination.. very happy. I surface sowed and kept moist, we still may have a frost and I hope the plants will be okay?? They’re in a seedling tray at the moment, should I bring them inside if we have a frost in the forecast?
Happy Spring 🙂
(0) (0) Watch Unwatch
Richo Cech –
hi adria, happiness is the best nutrient for plants. Plants direct-seeded outdoors in the spring are indeed frost hardy, but if started indoors they need to be acclimatized slowly to outdoor conditions. r
(0) (0)
Amy KOUSCH –
friends who planted starter plants from this seed (SMS) stock and used in tea, reported, “we felt so amazing” right before bedtime, after a long day of bicycle trekking.
(0) (0) Watch Unwatch
Question
Karen Bonvillain Bull –
How does this grow in zone 8? Also calendula?
(0) (0) Watch Unwatch
Richo Cech –
Hi karen, you’re so lucky to be in a zone 8! These herbs grow fine but not the same as corn and beans. you want to plant them outdoors in feb and mar. then you’ll pull off a crop before the heat hits. r
(1) (0)
Jenny –
When you say pull off a crop before the heat hits, does that mean the chamomile will probably die in the heat and need to be reseeded every spring? Or will it come back? I live in North Alabama and it gets ridiculously hot July through September. Dog days, which reminds me to pack down my seeds in the soil. 🙂
(1) (0)
Richo Cech –
yes, chamomile is a quick annual, best started in the early spring, it does come back, but only because it self-seeds, which is really rather wonderful. r
(1) (0)
Question
Susan (verified owner) –
Is it to late to plant in indiana? Zone 5
(0) (0) Watch Unwatch
Richo Cech –
Hi Susan, no, this is a good spring plant for a z 5. richo
(0) (0)
Question
Gabriel –
Hi. How much would I need to broadcast seed an 1/8 of an acre?
(0) (0) Watch Unwatch
Richo Cech –
Hi Gabriel, I checked Hornok’s book “Cultivation and processing of medicinal plants” and they recommend 3 kg/hectare which works out to 300 g/.25 acre. That would be direct-seeding, so you could get by with 1/3 that much if you started in plugs and transplanted. richo
(0) (0)
Question
Stephanie –
How can I prevent the birds from eating the seeds that I would sow closer to the sur6?
(0) (0) Watch Unwatch
Admin Richo Cech –
Chamomile seeds are too small for birds. other seeds (like clover for instance) can really attract birds. You can prepare a seedbed, scatter the seeds, tamp firmly then cover with a little straw if you want to confuse the bieds. very thin sprinkling of straw, the chamomile won’t want a thick mulch
(0) (0)
Jackie Tobey –
Is it too late to plant in Tennessee zone 7b?
(0) (0)
Admin Richo Cech –
Yes, it does seem a bit late.
(0) (0)
Baktolab –
Richo Hı
Can I ask the origin of the seeds. Are they certified?
(0) (0)
Richo Cech –
Hello there, yes, when the item name is followed by the word “organic” it means the seeds are certified organically grown by Oregon Tilth. The origin of the seeds is strictly medicinal seeds in Williams, Oregon. richo
(0) (0)
Question
Christopher Keahon –
Which region do these grow in? I am in southern new york.
(0) (0) Watch Unwatch
Admin Richo Cech –
Chamomile is an easy spring annual, it grows throughout the temperate zone.
(0) (0)
Luna Rae –
What is the germination rate of the seed?
(0) (0)
Diana –
Hello Luna,
Thanks for your inquiry. The current lot of German Chamomile seed was tested 12/19 to 89%. I also tested it practically, when I sowed a medium-sized bed in early March. Checked it out yesterday and it is up and running! We have an old joke around here that it only comes up in the dog tracks, because it absolutely must be tamped in order to germinate, and our old dog Flo demonstrated this to us one year when she walked across the bed and the chamomile only came up in her tracks. So when my wife saw this year’s chamomile coming up, she said “dog tracks?” and I said, “my hand prints.” And she said “no difference,” which just show you how much like a dog she thinks I am.
Richo
(2) (0)
Katie –
That’s funny, and very helpful too.
(1) (0)
Sarah –
Could I simply sprinkle the seeds in the area I want them in, without precision? I am looking to have the 4 types of chamomile as a ground cover under my evergreen trees in the back yard.
(0) (0)
Richo Cech –
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for writing! for the most part all of us do direct-seed the german chamomile in the fall to early spring. Yes, we just sprinkle it on surface and tamp it in and water. But remember this is an annual–it isn’t really a groundcover. For that, you’d surely prefer the roman chamomile, which is perennial. Or even yarrow, which is also low-growing, tough, and mowable. Check “richo’s blog” for the blog on herbal groundcovers. If direct-seeding, you’ll need to jump for the larger packet of 1 gram or more. r
(0) (0)