Learn how to grow aromatic dill for garden beauty, cooking, and bouquets.
Plus, discover how to harvest seeds for pickling.
Dills soft ferny foliage practically begs you to touch the delicate plant.
Credit: Robert Cardillo
Dill is hardy in the winter inUSDA Zones 9-11.
The delicate foliage adds textural interest to garden beds and borders, especially forcottage gardens.
High winds can easily damage dill stalks if they are not staked.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Oneplant to avoid growing near dillis carrots.
Its also best to avoid planting dill near tomatoes.
How and When to Plant Dill
Dill is easy to start from seed and grows best outdoors.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
Consider succession plantingto keep a continual source of dill on hand.
Seeds usually germinate in 7 to 14 days.
Dill can also be cultivated from nursery-grown transplants placed in the ground or a container in spring.
Dark Opal Basil produces purple/pink flowers in the summer months.Credit:anne heathen /Flckr /Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Some dill plants become floppy with age and size.
Keep them upright by sinking a sturdy twig or stake in the ground near the base of the plant.
Use garden twine to loosely anchor the plant to the stake.
Credit:Marty Baldwin
However, it may need help from stakes or other plants to stay erect.
Soil and Water
Plant dill in moist, well-drained soil.
If poor soil drainage is an issue, plant this herb in containers or raised beds.
Credit:Bob Stefko
Proper watering is essential for growing dill.
Keep the soil evenly moist while the seeds germinate.
When temperatures rise, dill tends to bolt and send up flower stalks to set seeds.
Credit: Illustration by Gary Palmer
Once this annual herb bolts, it dies.
To keep the plant for an extended growing season, remove the flowers.
Use a liquid fertilizer mixed with water, or scratch a time-release fertilizer into the ground while planting.
Credit: Illustration by Gary Palmer
For the amount to use, follow product label instructions.
Pruning
Pruning is an essential step in learning how to grow dill that isnt leggy.
Pruned parts can be used for prepping and cooking food.
Choose a container at least 12 inches deepdill plants form a deep taproot.
Dill does not take well to being transplanted.
If your plant outgrows its pot, it is best to start a new, larger container.
Pests and Problems
Dill plants attract aphids and other garden pests.
You may even want to grow extra dill so theres enough for you and the caterpillars.
How to Propagate Dill
The best way to propagate dill is with seed.
you’re able to also propagate dill via cuttings, but this method isnt as reliable.
When the seedlings reach 3 to 4 inches high, thin them to stand 12 to 24 inches apart.
You do not need to use a rooting hormone or fertilizer.
How to Harvest Dill
The best part of learning how to grow dill isharvesting the plant.
Fresh dill begins to droop as soon as you clip it.
Place a small paper bag with a few tiny holes for ventilation over the entire flower head.
Hang the plant upside down in a cool, dry location and wait for the seeds to fall.
Types of Dill
Long Island Mammoth Dill
Anethum graveolensLong Island Mammoth is an old-fashioned favorite.
Its fernlike leaves may be harvested for fresh use or dried for long-term storage.
It has delicate, feathery foliage with excellent dill flavor.
It blooms from midsummer into fall.
Bouquet Dill
The Bouquet cultivar has fine bluish-green foliage on plants that grow to 30 inches tall.
The annual has dark reddish-purple leaves that lend a stronger flavor than traditional green basil.
The herbaceous plant blooms delicate lilac flowers and grows 12 to 18 inches tall.
It looks striking nestled between plants with conventional green foliage.
Asparagus
Marty Baldwin
Asparagusis a slow-growing perennial that takes up a lot of space in the garden.
The spear-like vegetable is hardy in Zones 3-9.
Broccoli
Bob Stefko
Broccoli(Brassica oleracea)is a brassica plant with a 2-year life cycle.
Although it wont bloom until its second year, the vegetable is treated as an annual.
Crop rotation is necessary to prevent diseases spread through soil.
Dill weed is fresh or dried foliage.
Dill seed is produced from the pretty yellow umbels of flowers.
you’re free to freeze fresh dill by placing it in water in ice cube trays.
Drop the cubes into cooked dishes that can handle the additional moisture.
Although the flavor becomes muted, dill leaves and seeds are easily dried for later use.
