Plant Dill a week or two before the last frost. Best to sow direct as it doesn’t transplant easily or well. Plants thrive in rich, loose soil and a sunny cool location. Thin them to about a foot apart.
Dill leaves are best harvested just before the plants come into bloom, about two months after planting. Harvest seeds when they turn brown.
Small sowings, a few weeks apart until mid-summer, will provide you with a season-long supply of fresh leaves.
Also known as Dillweed, this hardy annual is native to southwest Asia and southeastern Europe. It has become naturalized in some parts of North America. It grows 2-4 feet high, with bluish green stems, finely divided leaves and yellow flowers that grow on terminal spikes.
Dill is well known for its versatile culinary uses. The delicate aromatic flavour of the leaves provides a refreshing note to potatoes, eggs, carrots, sauces and pickled cucumbers. The more pungent seeds enhance cabbage dishes, potato salad, fish stew and soup.
Dill was used medicinally by the early Greeks and Romans, and its use continued through medieval times. It is still used in much the same way as then. Drinking Dill tea or chewing seeds helps to relieve digestive gas, soothes upset stomach and sweetens bad breath. Dillweed is used for allaying nausea, calming hiccups and especially for treating colic in infants. It is high in vitamins A and C and is classified as an anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, diuretic, sedative, galactagogue and anti-microbial.