Growing Dill

Growing dill (Anethum Graveolens) can provide many uses such as dilly beans, dilled yogurt, and dilled cheese sauces.

The ferny leaves of this herb will add a tang of flavor to all kinds of dishes.

Plant small patches all through the summer for a steady supply.

The Greeks thought the presence of dill was an indication of prosperity.

In the 8th century, Charlemagne used it at banquets to relieve hiccups and in the middle ages it was used in a love potion and was believed to keep witches away.

Description

Dill is an annual that grows 1 to 5 feet tall, depending on the cultivar.

Flowers: Flat umbels about 6 inches across with many tiny yellowish flowers bloom three to four months after sowing.

Leaves: Dill has ferny, threadlike blue-green foliage.

Flavor and fragrance: Dill leaves have a spicy, slightly sharp flavor and fragrance. The seeds have a sharper flavor that is almost bitter.

How To Grow

When to plant: Sow directly in the garden after your last spring frost. To get an early start, sow four or five seeds per peat pot five weeks before your last spring frost date. Transplant the pots at a 12 inch spacing in the row. Make a second planting of dill in early July for a continuous supply.

Where to plant: Plant dill in full sun.

Soil and fertility: Plants grow best in moist, well-drained fertile soil.

Plant spacing: Allow 6 to 8 inches between the plants.

Pests: Largely pest-free

Diseases: Generally disease-free

Harvesting

When to harvest: Cut the leaves after the plants are about 6 inches tall, gathering them in the morning when the dew is dry, summer to early fall. Cut the leaves for drying just before the plant blooms.

You can collect the seed heads for pickles from the time the flowers are fully open to just before the seeds ripen. Harvest the ripe seeds for drying.

How to harvest: Snip off the individual leaves when the plants are young. Cut the whole stems of the foliage for drying, and strip the leaves off.

For use in pickles, cut off seed heads with an inch or so of stem attached. Enclose the seed head before it turns brown, and remove whole head.

Drying: Hang te stems upside down to dry the foliage, or cut into small pieces and dry on the fruit leather insert of a dehydrator. Strip the dried leaves from the stems.

To dry the seeds, enclose the seed heads in a paper bag or cheesecloth and hang the stems upside down.

Freezing: Freeze the leaves in ice cubes.

Uses

Cooking: You can use the leaves or seeds to flavor soups, cheeses, fish, beef, poultry, and egg, bean, pea, and vegetable dishes. Dill compliments almost all cabbage-family vegetables. It is also tasty when used fresh in green salads, with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, and in potato salad.

Vinegars: Use in vinegars to add a tangy flavor.

Oils: Great for adding flavor to extra-virgin olive oil.

Arrangements: You can use the flower umbels in fresh bouquets.

Growing dill will give you the option of adding a little tang to almost any meal.