You haven’t truly mastered the culinary arts until you’ve used fresh dill to add a unique flavor to your dishes. While dill is famously known for pickling cucumbers and beets, it also brings a distinctive taste to meat marinades, fish, chicken, salads, vegetables, soups, salad dressings, and homemade bread. Once you experience the zest that dill can add to your food, you’ll likely become interested in growing it yourself.
Traits and Uses of Dill
Dill is an annual herb that is pleasing to the eye, resembling a delicate fern, yet it’s easier to grow and much less temperamental. Dill leaves can be used fresh or dried, and the leaves are often referred to as “dill weed.” Dill seeds, on the other hand, are potent spices perfect for stews, breads, and, of course, pickling. The leaves are ready to be harvested in spring and summer, while the seeds are typically harvested in the fall.
As an herb, dill has many uses, including home remedies for colic, promoting breast milk production, and relieving gas and heartburn. It can even help eliminate bad breath and is sometimes used as a mild sedative. Historically, dill was used as a remedy for impotence, and burnt dill seeds were applied to treat wounds. The essential oil extracted from dill is also used in perfumes and cosmetics, as well as food flavoring.
Three Places to Grow Dill
Due to its ornamental value, growing dill in containers indoors is a popular choice. It also makes a lovely background addition to flower gardens. Dill thrives in potting soil, making it well-suited for container gardening. Additionally, dill attracts beneficial garden insects, such as bees, tachinid flies, and parasitic wasps, which make it a valuable asset in vegetable gardens and orchards. Bees are crucial for pollination, while tachinid flies and parasitic wasps help control pests like caterpillars, beetles, whiteflies, moths, and fly larvae. So, growing dill is not just ornamental and culinary—it also benefits your garden in many ways.
How to Grow Dill
Dill typically grows to a height of two to three feet. It flourishes in potting soil but does not transplant well, so it’s best to plant the seeds directly in the garden if you’re not using containers. Dill requires lots of sunlight, so choose a location that receives sunlight for most of the day.
The ideal time to plant dill seeds is about a week before the last spring frost. To enjoy dill leaves throughout the season, consider sowing seeds multiple times during the summer. Dill is a fast-growing plant; it usually takes about one to two weeks after planting for the seeds to germinate, and within two to four weeks, the plants will be ready for their first harvest.
In the garden, sow the seeds about a quarter inch deep in rows spaced one and a half to two feet apart. If planting in containers, ensure that your container is at least 10 inches deep and has drainage holes, as dill prefers well-drained soil. The seeds should be sown about a quarter inch deep in potting soil inside the container. After sowing, water the seeds well and keep the plants in a sunny location. Water regularly to keep the soil moist, but avoid overwatering.
Harvesting dill is simple: just pinch off the leaves to use them. You can use them fresh or dry them for later use. The seed heads can also be dried. To store dried dill, place it in an airtight jar. Keeping the dried dill in freezer-proof containers in the freezer will help preserve its flavor.
Growing dill is easy, and the herb has numerous uses. It’s an ornamental and beneficial plant for your home, flower garden, vegetable garden, or orchard. Dill is a hardy herb with popularity worldwide.
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Great article