SIMON COURTAULD

DILL

Having sown a row of dill in the first week of May, I was surprised that it germinated and grew so well during that hot, dry month. We were cutting the leaves sparingly throughout June, and had enough to make gravadlax as well.

Another sowing now, or by late August, should provide plenty of dill during autumn when the plants are less likely to run to flower.

One is advised to thin out the seedlings, but I have never bothered. Dill is a thin, spindly plant and grows perfectly well in close proximity to its neighbours. And it does not like having its roots disturbed.

Of the several varieties available, I usually grow Dukat, which is slow to bolt. Some plants may grow to three feet tall, but Fernleaf is a dwarf

variety suitable for growing in a pot or a window box.

Although dill is an annual, it is not unusual for self-sown seed heads to produce plants in the following year. Last month, I was able to pick a few dill leaves that were growing among the carrots, and not that easy to distinguish from the carrot foliage. Growing dill near fennel is not a good idea, as they may cross-pollinate and produce plants with little flavour.

The attractive, yellow-flowering heads will set seeds which, if left until they start to turn brown in late summer, can be gathered and used, together with the leaves, to pickle cucumbers. The cut stalks should be hung upside down in paper bags to dry until the seeds fall off.

The herb’s name is derived from a Norse word, dilla, meaning ‘to lull’, as the seeds were supposed to have a soporific effect. I don’t know whether gripe water is still given to babies, but I remember from the distant past its calming effect, and one of its principal ingredients was oil extracted from dill seeds.

In the 18th century, the seeds were also apparently chewed in church, to ward off hunger and lull members of the congregation during long and boring sermons.