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Monday, October 9, 2023

Dill Weed in Your Garden by Jeffrey Blake

All photos by Jeffrey Blake

Dill weed (Anethum graveolens) is a valuable addition to your garden because of its culinary versatility, its ability to attract beneficial insects and pollinators, its low-maintenance nature, and its potential medicinal uses. Whether you're an avid cook or simply want to enhance your garden's biodiversity and aesthetics, dill is an herb worth considering for your garden space.


  • Culinary Uses: Dill is a flavorful herb commonly used in cooking. Its leaves (dill weed) and seeds are both edible and are known for their distinct, slightly tangy flavor with hints of anise and lemon. Dill is often used to season dishes such as pickles, salads, seafood, and sauces.
  • Companion Plant: Dill is an excellent companion plant in the garden. It attracts beneficial insects like ladybugs and parasitic wasps, which can help control common garden pests like aphids and caterpillars. Planting dill near vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers can potentially improve their health and yield.
  • Supports Pollinators: Dill produces umbrella-like clusters of small yellow flowers that are attractive to a variety of pollinators, including bees and butterflies. These pollinators help fertilize other plants in your garden, promoting fruit and vegetable production.
  • Easy to Grow: Dill is relatively easy to grow, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced gardeners. It doesn't require particularly rich soil and can thrive in a variety of growing conditions, as long as it receives adequate sunlight.
  • Self-Seeding: Dill is known for its self-seeding ability. Once you establish dill in your garden, it often drops seeds that will sprout in the following growing season without much effort on your part. This can lead to a consistent supply of fresh dill year after year.
  • Aesthetic Appeal: Dill plants have delicate, feathery leaves and bright yellow flowers that add an attractive and ornamental element to your garden. They can contribute to the overall aesthetics of your landscape.
  • Medicinal Uses: In addition to its culinary uses, dill has been used for its potential medicinal properties. It has been traditionally used to alleviate digestive issues and may have mild anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
  • Versatile in the Kitchen: Dill can be used in a wide range of dishes, from salads and dressings to soups, stews, and fish recipes. Its fresh leaves and seeds add a unique and pleasant flavor to many culinary creations.
  • Preservation: You can preserve dill by drying its leaves or seeds. This allows you to have access to dill's flavor year-round, even when the plant isn't actively growing in your garden.

 


Water dill regularly to deter premature flowering, and keep the soil free of weeds. Tall plants may need support. Apart from that, dill needs little maintenance, although do sow new batches regularly as plants may only produce leaves for a few weeks in the height of summer before they start to flower.

Dill can easily start to overtake other plants if left to its own devices. Though it is not nearly as invasive as mint, it is a good idea to regularly check your dill patch and weed out any plants if you notice it spreading.