dill, dill stems and dill seeds

[flowerbug]

last year i had plenty of dill, which is always a good thing, i've decided i probably like pickled dill more than i like the pickles themselves... because of having so many stems around from processing into the canning jars i set aside a pile of stems to dry for later use. aka me chewing on them.

not quite as sturdy as a toothpick, but the flavor is much better.

when i go out into the garden to pick anything i'll often check the dill to see if there's a few flower heads i can munch on. have to make sure the ladybugs and spiders aren't on there, but otherwise good eats.

i have tons of seeds from last year, we'll probably by starts anyways, i'm pretty sure it would be a really bad idea for me to scatter these seeds all over the place, but i am sorely tempted...

the only part of the plant i've not done anything with is the root. makes me wonder... anyone done anything with dill roots? are they edible?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have not done anything with dill roots. I plan on making dill pickles this year so I will be planting dill.

The way I start Basil is to take a wooden frame maybe 8" x 12" at most and set that in the garden. It's probably smaller than that. Then I sprinkle basil seeds inside that when the weather gets warm. The only purpose for the frame is so I know where they are before they come up, that kind of helps keep me from walking on them. When they get big enough I transplant some. I don't know why that would not work with dill.

I use the seed heads by themselves for pickles, they are usually finished long before the cukes are ready. I rinse them and pat then dry, then roll them up in wax paper to freeze. When I'm ready to make pickles the seed heads are available out of the freezer. But that raises a question, if you try that would the dill be ready when the cukes are in your climate if you wait that long to start them.

 

[seedcorn]

Dill comes up wild in my garden.

 

[Just-Moxie]

 

[Ridgerunner]

Dill comes up wild in my garden.

If I didn't freeze the seed heads it would in mine too. Still does occasionally unless I yank it out to stop it.

 

[flowerbug]

...
I use the seed heads by themselves for pickles, they are usually finished long before the cukes are ready. I rinse them and pat then dry, then roll them up in wax paper to freeze. When I'm ready to make pickles the seed heads are available out of the freezer. But that raises a question, if you try that would the dill be ready when the cukes are in your climate if you wait that long to start them.

if we use starts they are ready at the same time at the middle part of summer. for a while. the dill sometimes can die off. sometimes we have cucumbers from mid summer until the fall frosts. last year some disease took the cucumbers out within a few short weeks but luckily we had put up 70 quarts by then.

i will have to keep a close eye on the area where some was growing last year out in another patch. from seeds i scattered there previous year. i don't want many to grow, but a few i will leave alone to see how they compare to the starts. if they both come into flower about the same time that would be interesting to know. then we can avoid getting starts and i can just let some wild ones go here or there. but i do have to be careful to not let it go too crazy, because i really don't need a repeat of the garlic problem...

 

[flowerbug]

Dill comes up wild in my garden.

i had a few dill plants show up off in one of my wilder gardens, but i'd scattered seeds in that area the previous fall. i left a few heads alone so they could drop seeds. later on in the fall some of those had already sprouted so i had some nice nibbling fronds for myself before the cold came along and took them out.

i wonder how many seeds i will see sprouting this coming spring and when. are they cold weather or warmer weather sprouters?

 

[ducks4you]

I could use some help with growing dill. I use a LOT of dill seeds when I make vinegar based slaws, and I want to grow them as companions for my tomato plants. Any tips?

 

[digitS']

I'm with @seedcorn , dill is almost a weed in my garden!

It's really an appreciated dill weed because I like it . It isn't hugely problematic but I have decided that it is best left in the onions. They don't much crowd each other.

We don't can and don't have a lot of use for dill weed. It's very good on baked salmon . Not very long ago, we learned to just wash it, put it in a bag and freeze it. Using it straight out of the freezer works fine. I'm using this technique for several herbs. DW even makes basil pesto, freezes it and scrapes it out of the container for cooking.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

I could use some help with growing dill. I use a LOT of dill seeds when I make vinegar based slaws, and I want to grow them as companions for my tomato plants. Any tips?

i really don't know much about them other than that i like them. i've never grown starts to transplant. not sure how long the tap root might want to get. the pots we usually get the starts in are only about 4-5 inches deep. tons of seeds if they're let to go. beware...