The International Herb Association has chosen dill as its 2010 Herb of the Year.
Dill is easy to grow and beautiful to look at, and finds a place in herb, vegetable and flower gardens.
Dill is a cool season plant, which means it is best planted from seed in early spring. . It is an annual, but self-seeds prolifically, so once you plant it you probably won’t ever have to plant it again. Don’t worry though – seedlings that pop up in unwanted places are easy to pull so it doesn’t become uncontrollable. And those little seedlings can be used in salads, sandwiches and dips right away.
The plants that grow on their own in subsequent years will probably be stronger and healthier than the ones that grow from your carefully placed seed. Still, you may want to save some seed to make later plantings throughout the early part of the season to provide a continuous supply of fresh dill.
Dill has ferny green leaves and showy yellow flowers, and reaches a three foot height, making it a good background to tall marigolds, zinnias, blue salvia and red and green basil.
Plant dill seeds in full sun about ¼-inch deep early in spring after danger of frost is past, about ten inches apart in rows two feet apart. A less formal approach is to scatter the seeds and rake them lightly into the soil. Tamp the soil to ensure seed-to-soil contact.
When the plants are about six inches tall, you can begin clipping the leaves close to the stem. Do this in the late morning or in the evening for best flavor. When the plants get a little older, the cut flowers make long lasting aromatic additions to summer bouquets. As soon as the real heat of summer sets in, the plants will quickly set seed.
Dry dill by hanging bunches of it upside down or spreading the stems out on newspaper for a couple of days in a warm dry place indoors. Store the dried leaves in an airtight container. You can also freeze freshly picked leaves in plastic freezer bags.
Harvest seeds when they turn dark brown. Snip the umbrella-shaped plant tops off with a scissors and let them dry for a week or two on newspaper or in a paper grocery bag in a warm room. If the seeds do not fall off themselves, you can easily rub them off by the handful.
The seed heads ripen just in time for making dill pickles from your garden-grown cucumbers and can also be used in breads or salad dressings. The leaves are good in tomato dishes and potato, egg, and tuna salads, or mixed with cream cheese or butter for a tasty spread. Remember that one tablespoon of chopped fresh dill equals one teaspoon of dried dill weed.
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