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Growing Dill
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Dill
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Dill
Dill is an annual, self-seeding plant with feathery green leaves. It is used most commonly in soups and stews or for pickling. Dill weed is easy to grow—here’s how!
If you’re planting dill for pickling, plant every few weeks into midsummer to ensure a constant supply for when the harvest begins!
To create a permanent patch of dill, allow some of the plants to flower and go to seed each year—you’ll have plenty of early dill to start the season.
Dill attracts beneficial insects such as wasps and other predatory insects to your garden, and is a host plant for the caterpillar of the black swallowtail butterfly.
Black swallowtail caterpillar on dill flowers.
Planting
When to Plant Dill
- Dill seeds should be sown directly into the garden (dill doesn’t transplant well) after the threat of frost has passed in the spring. See local frost dates.
- The soil temperature should be between 60 and 70ºF (15 and 21°C) for the best results.
- Plant dill every couple of weeks until mid summer to ensure a constant supply.
Choosing and Preparing a Planting Site
- Plant in full sun.
- Choose a site that has well-draining soil that’s rich in organic matter. The pH of the soil should be between slightly acidic and neutral.
- In your garden, plant dill next to cabbage or onions, but keep it away from carrots. Learn more about companion planting.
- Make sure to shelter dill from strong winds.
How to Plant Dill
- Sow dill seeds about ¼-inch deep and 18 inches apart.
- After 10 to 14 days, young dill plants should appear in the soil. Wait another 10 to 14 days, then thin the plants to about 12 to 18 inches apart (if they aren’t already spaced well enough).
Care
How to Grow Dill
- Water the plants freely during the growing season.
- In order to ensure a season-long fresh supply of dill, continue sowing seeds every few weeks. For an extended harvest, do not allow flowers to grow on the plants.
- If the dill was allowed to go to seed last year and the soil hasn’t been disturbed too much, more dill plants will grow the next season.
Pests/Diseases
- Leaf spot and occasionally a few other types of fungal leaf and root diseases
Harvest/Storage
How to Harvest Dill
- As soon as the plant has four to five leaves, you can start harvesting. Pinch off the leaves or cut them off with scissors.
- If you have a lot of plants, you can pinch off entire stalks.
Recommended Varieties
- Fernleaf dill weed is good for pickling and for use in potato salads, cucumber soup, and fish dishes.
- For lots of fernleaf, plant ‘Bouquet’.
- For large seed heads, plant ‘Mammoth’.
Wit & Wisdom
- For sweeter breath, chew dill seeds.
- If you grow your own dill and cucumbers, you can make dill pickles!
Recipes
Cooking Notes
Many people love to make dill pickles with their fresh dill. Learn how with our tips and recipes for dill pickles or our video on making dill pickles. You can also add dill as a seasoning in countless recipes.
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Reader Comments
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Freezing Dill & Lemon-Lime Basil
Two things:
(1) Dill & Lemon-Lime Basil are my favorite combo herbs for fish & veggies. Both come up as prolific volunteer in my garden each year which leads to....
(2) I chop and freeze my dill & lemon-lime basil on wax paper, and once frozen, quickly transfer to plastic pint containers in my freezer. It keeps it's color and flavor, and I have guaranteed "fresh" herbs from my garden all winter long. Even if it clumps together, you can chop off a piece and quickly thaw to use on fish, veggies, in breads etc... It's so much better than drying them.
Dill seed harvesting
I have a dill plant that went to seed. I want to harvest and plant the seeds, but I am not sure when to collect them from the plant. Also, do I have to dry the seeds first, before planting?. Please advise on this, Thank you!
saving dill seed
You can harvest the dill seeds when the flower head (umbel) turns brown but the stem is still slightly green (wait a day or two if it had rained–you don’t want the plant to be wet). Don’t wait too long, though, or the seeds will fall. Just clip the seed heads off the plant and over a container or bag, carefully rub the seed head so that the seeds fall into the container. Although some sources say that dill doesn’t need further treatment, to play it safe, you can then dry the seeds on paper towels for about a week (winnow out any chaff), before storing in a cool, dry location.
Using dill,
I have enjoyed some fresh dill but it is turning pale' My question , When I trim my dill for recipes/use, does it keep making new leaves? Is my dill season OVER? I have it planted in a large well drained planter with plenty of sun and water.
dill turning pale
If the leaves are turning pale, it could be due to several things. Make sure that it is getting enough light–at least 6 to 8 hours a day. Do not over-fertilize, which can cause yellowing. Also, check for pests, such as aphids. A few diseases may also cause the color change.
Dill stalks become pale at the end of their life cycles
Dill stalks will only tolerate nipping the flower buds so many times before turning gray or brown and dying away. Its job is to propagate and it puts all energy into making those buds. If it fails, it must start over, yet there is a limit to how many times the plant will take the stress. Cilantro is even worse. This is why you should plant several times over a season or let your last stem go to seed (preferably under a bag for containment).
Getting rid of aphids
I use scot tape to get aphids off plants. Gently tap the plant with the sticky side of the tape and the aphids will be attached to the tape. While it is not the fastest method, it is effective.
Yeah it's sounds like a slow
Yeah it's sounds like a slow death, dehydrating whilst stuck to a piece of tape. Just buy lady birds I would suggest.
Slow death?
That would not be a slow death. You can very easily fold the tape in half and step on it after you are done collecting the bugs and poof, instant death. They are bugs, I don't know why you would be worried about them having a slow death anyway.
Slow death
Lol! Now that's funny! And practical, too. I don't know why anyone would be concerned about the feelings of insects. Hundreds of billions of insects die every day- that's just an essential part of the cycle of life. Plus, many insects, given half the chance, would gladly decimate our crops, starve us to death, then feast on our corpses. There's good bugs and there's bad bugs.
I have have attempted to
I have have attempted to start dill from seeds for the last 2 years, sowing directly into the ground, plenty of sun and water, bought seed in a packet one year then used seed harvested from another gardener last year. I could not get my seed to sprout, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, great article!
We are inclined to think the
We are inclined to think the problem is in the soil. Dill will grow in poor soil; but if you have not already, you could try well-drained/draining composted soil, and full sun. There seems to be enthusiasts of both camps (poor soil, composted soil). It does not do well when over watered or in rainy season. One other thought, going back to the soil: What is the pH of your soil? Dill likes a neutral pH of between 5.5 and 6.5. An extreme acid or alkaline soil could be the issue here, if all else is as it should be.
We hope this helps!
I purchased a miracle aero
I purchased a miracle aero system with dill. Works great.
Aphids on dillweed
I bought dillweed at the farmers market to make dill pickles. It had a lot of aphids on it we washed it in salt and vintages but we're still seeing them. How do you get them off of harvested dill weed?
washing dill
The aphids are sticky so you need a vinegar rinse to release them. Add a cup of white vinegar to a bowl of cold water and wash the dill in the water. Then rinse a few times in vinegar-free water. If it’s still too heavily invested, talk to the place where you got them. Also, for what it’s worth, eating an aphid is harmless protein, but we understand that you wouldn’t want to eat bugs!
Simulating Seeding
Hi there,
I'm trying to establish a solid dill patch that will reseed itself year after year. (I know it can be done in my climate because a relative of mine has a beautiful and dense patch that comes back on its own every year.) I had a couple plants that were flowering, but the flowers were all just destroyed by hail. I was thinking about scattering some dill seeds from a packet in the vicinity of the plants around the time that the seeds would have been falling themselves, in an effort to simulate the self-seeding process. Is there a time in the late summer/autumn when it would be best to do something like that?
Sowing Dill Seeds
The ideal time to sow dill seeds directly into the ground is late April through May. But given the fact that several crops can be harvested during the summer and fall by planting seeds every 2-3 weeks through midsummer, you might want to start a batch now.
dill turning yellow
I have a dill plant and part of the plant is turning yellow Is it still good to dry or is there a problem with the dill itself
yellowing dill
If the leaves are turning yellow early in the season, it could be due to several things. Make sure that it is getting enough light–at least 6 to 8 hours a day. Do not over-fertilize, which can cause yellowing. Also, check for pests, such as aphids. A few diseases may also cause yellowing.
Looking for Flower Match
Hi I'm thinking about getting into gardening this year and I wanted to try planting dill alongside lettuce and cucumbers. I'm also considering adding in some flowers but I'm not sure what to go with. Any suggestions?
There are so many flowers to
There are so many flowers to choose from. Here are a couple of annuals that you can start from seed. They are easy to care for and will work well with veggies and herbs. Cosmos, nasturtiums, and marigolds. You can check our growing guide for flowers at http://www.almanac.com/plants.
dill
thanks. i needed this cuz we just got stuff from school to plant
thankssss
Thanks!
Thanks!
I want to maintain my dill
I want to maintain my dill patch long term....year after year, so I want the dill to re-seed itself. At the end of the season, should I till the patch or just leave it?
As stated in the dill
As stated in the dill article, the soil should remain undisturbed. I had a dill patch that came back for years until we dug up the bed and very few plants survived that. Dill seeds need light to germinate so if they get too deeply buried they will not come up.
Can dill keep growing every
Can dill keep growing every year on it's own now for 70yrs.+
Dill is considered an annual
Dill is considered an annual herb but it self seeds at the end of the growing season if seed heads are left on the plants. One plant has many seeds so it will come back year after year.
It seems as though I did
It seems as though I did everything wrong: I started by planting my seeds in those little pellets. Then I transplanted them into a hanging basket (only thing I had left to put it in) and hung it high outside. We've had a really hot spring and . . . my basket is full of dill plants 6"-12". My goal is to harvest the dill for pickles.
Hi. I'm brand new to
Hi. I'm brand new to gardening. I started dill seeds in a container outside and I had about four nice green sprouts, maybe a half an inch to an inch tall. Brand new things, then they disappeared overnight! I'm guessing something ate them, but not sure what. I have basil, cilantro, mint, oregano and thyme sprouts nearby but they were not touched. What do you think ate my dill sprouts and how do I prevent this from happening again? I'm in grow zone 9 in the Central Valley in CA. Thanks for the help!
Hi, Heather, It's difficult
Hi, Heather, It's difficult to provide a specific answer but we can tell you that dill does not transplant easily; it is best sown in the ground. Your failure could have been lack of light. It doesn't seem likely that something ate the dill; if so, it may have been something in the soil, but that seems unlikely too, if you're using a soil-less seed-starting medium.
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