If you hit the right spot, allow plants to self-seed next season, you may not have to sow as the dill will do it for you. It’s worth experimenting with a few different sites – plants will soon show their preference. With good moisture throughout its short growing season, dill will reward you with abundant, healthy foliage without, it quickly goes to seed. Thin seedlings to 20cm apart, so their hollow stems support each other. Sow every 4-6 weeks, starting as soon as soil is warm enough for a continuous supply. Sow in blocks, so the hollow-stemmed, top-heavy plants support each other, or near to other companionable plants (except fennel). Plants are tender, and the taproot is easily damaged, so sow it directly into a bed of finely tilled soil. If possible, source a slow-bolting, more compact variety such as Lena or Vierling.Ĭhoose a sunny site, protected from wind, with well-drained soil, enriched with compost – dill doesn’t like being hungry or thirsty. The two plants should be kept apart, especially if you’re saving seed, as they cross-pollinate, with fennel more dominant.ĭill is a short-lived annual, and the only way to grow it is from seed. However, dill has feathery, blue-green leaves, while fennel has yellow-green leaves.ĭill is a smaller plant (up to 90cm) with a single stem fennel is multi-stemmed and will grow to 1.5m. At first sight, the two plants look similar. Sow your seeds shallowly on top of moist soil Don’t overwater instead, allow the topsoil to dry out a little Water from below, but don’t overdo it Place seedlings in a well-ventilated area. While fennel can be substituted, its flavour is much sweeter, with a definite anise taste, and doesn’t give you the same effect.ĭill is pungent, with a pleasant sour tang and just a hint of aniseed, and many cooks prefer its more refined flavour. Some people argue you don’t need dill if you have the perennial fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) in your garden. Why you should add lemongrass to your herb garden It will be fresher, tastier, and have a longer shelf life than leaves bought from a supermarket. Dill doesn’t keep well and is best harvested and used straight from the garden. Nothing is wasted – all parts of the plant can be used.Ĥ. The flowers are a super-food for beneficial insects, such as parasitic wasps.ģ. The flat, bright yellow flowers are decorative and fragrant, delightful among marigolds in your vegetable beds. As the sun heats the leaves, and you brush past it, a pungent aroma is released, a mix of anise and parsley, with hints of celery and citrus.Ģ. In the morning, the fine, blue-green, feathery leaves sparkle with dewdrops. Once dill finds its ‘happy place’, it’s a pleasure to grow. By the time the cook discovered them, there was plenty ready to harvest.ġ. Since then, I’ve read that dill developed as a ‘field plant’ in the wild and prefers to grow amongst other plants. Naturally, it was the seedlings I forgot about that thrived, hidden behind a sprinkler, nestled beside a tall Italian parsley plant. A barrage of aphids delivered their last rites.ĭetermined to succeed, I sowed more seeds in four different sites. When I inspected them, the leaves were curled over and unrecognisable. I gave them plenty of space, fertilised the soil, and waited for the marvellous ferny fronds to scent the air with dill-iciousness. Last season I sowed dill (Anethum graveolens) in my garden for the first time.
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