Dill can be used as a herb or spice to flavour food
Flavoursome dill is ridiculously easy to grow and eat and, indeed, under the right conditions, it self-sows so readily as to be almost a weed!
Luckily, its bright-green feathery leaves and yellow flowers are so pretty in the garden , and the herb can be used in salads, soups and served with fish, while the edible seed can be added to your baking and your pickles.
SOW AND GROW
When to sow: August to March in warmer areas and September to February in cooler areas.
When to transplant: March to April and September to October in warmer areas and February to March and October to November in cooler areas.
Position: Full sun.
Harvest: 6-8 weeks.
Good for pots.
GET STARTED
Dill is another shoulder season crop, so sow direct in early spring or autumn. You can start in trays or jiffy pots inside a little earlier, but dill has a long tap root and resents being transplanted so you are usually better to wait and sow direct.
But if you only want one or two plants (which is really all you need) you can also transplant seedlings (carefully) in autumn and spring.
STEP BY STEP
Sow seeds on top of the soil and press firmly in, covering them lightly. Thin to 10cm apart.
If growing in containers, choose a deep pot to accommodate that long taproot.
GROWING TIPS
Dill likes rich, free-draining soil. Give it a spot with full sun in cooler areas, but one which offers some shade from the sun in the middle of the day in warmer areas.
Keep up moisture as dill will quickly go to seed if it gets too dry, especially when growing in a pot. Feed fortnightly with a liquid fertiliser to prevent foliage yellowing.
Let a few plants go to flower and selfseed to get more plants and if you want to harvest the seeds (which have a stronger anise flavour than the leaves). You can sow successfully every fortnight throughout summer for a continuous supply, but to be honest this plant self seeds so readily if you get the conditions right, you may not have to sow more than once.
STANDOUT VARIETIES
If you want the foliage, try Lena, which is slow to bolt. If you want the seedheads, Bouquet has flowers early and has large attractive seed umbels.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Young dill plants can be spindly, so give them a spot out of the wind and some support with twigs. Likewise, stake any plants left to go to seed, as the hollow stems can struggle to support flowerheads. Aphids can be a problem for dill too, so blast off with a hose, or squash regularly with your fingers to prevent the population from building up.