How to grow dill.

Dill at a glance

Dill is one of the simplest herbs to grow from seed, and one crop gives you two things: the soft, feathery leaves for fish, salads and pickles, and the aromatic seed later in the year. It is an annual, so it lives for a single season and dies once it has set seed.

Sowing

The one thing to get right with dill is to sow it direct where it is to grow. It dislikes having its roots disturbed, and that disturbance is exactly what tips it into bolting, so it does far better sown in situ than raised in trays and moved. Sow it in open ground or in a deep container:

• Sow mid-spring to mid-summer, thinly in rows, about 1cm (half an inch) deep. Cover lightly and water.
• Seeds germinate in one to two weeks, given a minimum of 15C (60F), so hold off until the soil has warmed in spring.
• Thin the seedlings to about 20cm (8in) apart once they are big enough to handle. Try not to disturb the ones you are keeping.

For a steady supply, sow a small batch every few weeks rather than one big sowing. If you want a head start you can sow in plug trays under cover, but move them out while they are still small, before the roots fill the cell.

Where to grow it

Dill wants a warm, sunny and sheltered spot in fertile, free-draining soil. It dislikes cold, soggy conditions, so heavy wet ground or a shady corner will not suit it. A sunny bed or a deep pot of peat-free multipurpose compost both work well.

It is a tall, slightly top-heavy plant, so shelter matters: the taller varieties can reach up to 1.5m (5ft) and flop or snap in wind on an exposed site. If your garden is breezy, grow a dwarf variety or give it a quiet corner with some support.

Care and bolting

Dill looks after itself once it is up, with one job that matters: keep it watered in dry spells. In hot, dry weather it flowers prematurely (bolts), and once it starts to flower it more or less stops making new leaves. Even watering, especially in a pot that dries out fast, is the single best thing you can do to keep it leafy.

It rarely needs feeding in decent soil. If you are growing mainly for leaves, snip off the flower heads as they start to form to buy yourself a little more picking time, though in a hot summer dill will often win that race and flower anyway.

Harvesting leaves and seed

Leaves: start picking about six weeks after sowing, and carry on through autumn. Snip the feathery leaves as you need them, taking a little from several plants rather than stripping one. Use them as soon as you can after picking, as they wilt quickly; to keep some back, freeze them rather than drying, which loses most of the flavour.

Seed: let a few plants flower and run on. The seed ripens in late summer and autumn, turning brown on the heads. Cut whole heads into a paper bag before they shed, dry them in a warm room, then store the seed airtight for the kitchen or to sow next year. The yellow flower umbels are good for bees and hoverflies while you wait.

Varieties and problems

For leaves, pick a compact, slow-to-bolt variety; for seed, grow a large vigorous one:

Dill is otherwise easy and trouble-free. Bolting is the main issue, covered above. Protect young seedlings from slugs and snails, especially in damp weather, and keep an eye out for aphids (greenfly) on soft growth, which you can rub or rinse off.

Frequently asked questions