About Leaf Dill aka "Dill Weed" (Anethum graveolens)
[There is a separate page on seed dill.]
Dill is, we think, one of the great herbs, and is sadly underappreciated and underused in
the U.S. Dill is grown for both its dried seeds and its ferny leaf; though the same plant
can be used for both purposes, cultivars aimed at one or the other particular use have been
bred, so one is best off using different plants, of different cultivars, for the two
purposes. This page deals only with growing dill for leaf (commonly called "dill weed").
Cultivars
Dill cultivars (like those of coriander) fall into two broad
classes, those intended mainly for seed production and "slow-bolt" types intended mainly
for leaf production; there are also some varieties that are distinctly smaller than the
others, intended especially for container growing.
If one has restricted indoor growing space and needs a small dill for leaf growth, the
cultivar Fernleaf is probably the best choice. For those with a little more room,
or who are growing dill weed outdoors, the newer varieties Hercules or possibly
SuperDukat (the latter supposedly an improved strain of the Dukat type) seem
the best choices.
Planting
Dill is an annual. In its early growth, which typically lasts 40 to 60 days after
emergence, it produces the ferny leaves ("weed") that we want. At some point, the plant
starts sending up a flower stalk from its center, at which time leaf production ceases (and
seed production begins). Obviously, then, we need to start a new plant every couple of
months or so to be assured of a continuing supply of fresh dill weed.
(If you have the room for multiple plants, you can let your flowering dill stand till seed
production is complete, then harvest the seed and thresh it out as described on the page
here about seed dill.)
As with most herbs, dill definitely wants well-drained soil. It likes full sun.
To sow, place the seed on the soil surface, then just barely cover it with sifted soil or a
little sand. After sowing, be patient, for dill is a slow germinator, often taking over 3
weeks to emerge, though rather less if the soil is warm (as it should be indoors).
Growing
Fertilize growing dill when the plants start flowering with a sprinkling of fertilizer high
in potassium and phosphorus.
Keep an eye on your dill plants--which, of the non-dwarf varieties, can get tall, 2 to 3
feet high if healthy--to see if they're starting to droop from being top-heavy; if so,
stake them.
Relevant Links
Besides any links presented above on this page, the following ought to be especially helpful.
-
Dill -
from Gernot Katzer's immensely valuable Spice Dictionary
-
Dill -
an informative page from the Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association's "Herbs for the
Prairies" site
-
Plants For a Future Database: Dill -
lots of data on the plant, and links to yet more
-
Anethum -
good growing and harvesting information, with some cultivar discussion
Return to the top of this page.
--Site Directory--
Search this site, or the web
-
Background Information
about the purposes and design of this site
-
Recommended Crops for a home garden, by variety
-
Gardening information and aids
-
Miscellaneous Information of interest to the home
gardener
-
Books on "Vegetables" and vegetable gardening,
both new and used
In reality, we have six bookshops, one for each of the six national divisions of Amazon books; the links farther below are to the U.S.-based shop, but you can
visit any of the six:
In our U.S.A. Bookshop:
(What do you know about OmniKnow?)
Since you're growing your own vegetables and fruits, shouldn't you be cooking them in the best way possible?
Visit The Induction Site to find out what that best way is!
|
|
This site is one of The Owlcroft Company family of web sites. Please click on the link (or the owl)
to see a menu of our other diverse user-friendly, helpful sites.
|
|
Like all our sites, this one is hosted at the highly regarded Pair
Networks,
whom we strongly recommend. We invite you to click on the Pair link (or their logo) for more information on getting your site or sites hosted on a first-class
service.
|
Click here to send us email.
And why not look in at Is it a blog yet?
So that you need not be a victim of the "Browser Wars," we have taken the trouble to assure that
this web page is 100% compliant with the World Wide Web Consortium's
XHTML Protocol v1.0 (Transitional).
You can click on the logo below to test this page!
Not every browser renders proper HTML correctly (Internet Explorer famously does not);
so, if your browser experiences any difficulties with this page (or, really, even if it doesn't),
(It's free!)
You loaded this page on
Tuesday, 8 July 2008, at 23:55 EDT.;
it was last modified on Saturday, 24 February 2007, at 04:57 EST.
All content copyright ©1999 - 2008 by
The Owlcroft Company
