A fast-growing annual herb prized for its feathery leaves and aromatic seeds, equally at home in the kitchen and the pollinator garden.
Anethum graveolens · also called dillweed, garden dill
Windows are counted from the average date of your last spring frost.
Dill produces harvestable leaves within weeks of sowing and requires minimal inputs. Its flat-topped flower clusters attract beneficial insects, including parasitic wasps that suppress aphid and caterpillar populations in the surrounding bed.
A little history. Native to southwest Asia and the eastern Mediterranean, dill is an annual or occasionally biennial member of the carrot family. It is the sole species in the genus Anethum. Long days and warm temperatures trigger bolting (the shift from leaf growth to flowering and seed set).
Sow seeds ⅛ inch (3 mm) deep, and aim for 12 inches (30 cm) between plants once thinned. Press seeds lightly into the soil surface — they need light to germinate. Keep the top quarter-inch moist until sprouts appear. Seedlings emerge in 7–14 days.
Water deeply once or twice a week; reduce frequency once plants are established. Water when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch. Aim for about 1 inch per week including rain.
One light feeding at planting; avoid heavy nitrogen once plants are 6 inches tall. What to use: balanced 5–5-5 organic fertilizer or a thin layer of compost worked into the top inch at sowing.
Pinch out the central flower bud as soon as it forms to delay bolting and extend leaf production. Once flowering begins in earnest, leaf quality declines and the plant is best left to set seed or pulled.
It's ready when harvest leaves once the plant has at least 4–5 feathery fronds and stands 8 inches tall. For seed, wait until the seed heads turn tan-brown and seeds begin to loosen when rubbed. Snip individual fronds with scissors just above a leaf node, taking no more than one-third of the plant at a time. For seed heads, cut the entire stem and place upside-down in a paper bag to catch seeds as they dry.
Fresh fronds keep 1–2 weeks wrapped in a damp paper towel in the refrigerator, or freeze chopped dill in ice cube trays with water. Dried seed stores in an airtight jar for up to 1 year.
Sow a new short row every 3–4 weeks from early spring through midsummer to maintain a continuous supply of fresh leaves. Each sowing takes 40–60 days to reach harvest.
Cabbage
Dill's flat flower clusters feed hoverflies, lacewings, and tiny parasitic wasps that hunt cabbage aphids and young cabbageworms. Let a few plants flower near the cabbage row rather than pinching every bud.
Onion
Onions root shallowly while dill sends down a slim taproot, so the two draw water from different layers and can share a row without crowding. Keep onions on the sunny side, as dill grows tall fast.
Lettuce
A row of dill on the south side casts light, filtered shade that can hold lettuce back from bolting (the shift from leaf growth to flowering) once afternoons run hot.
Cucumber
Flowering dill draws bees and hoverflies to the bed, which often improves fruit set on cucumbers, a crop that needs repeat visits to each female flower.
Asparagus
Gardeners have long tucked dill along the edge of an asparagus bed, where its shallow footprint spares the crowns and its flowers bring in predatory insects. Sow at the bed's margin so spear cutting is not disturbed.
Fennel
Fennel roots release compounds that stunt most garden vegetables, dill included, and both are carrot-family plants sharing pests. Grow fennel in its own corner or a pot, where its flowers still feed hoverflies and parasitic wasps.
Carrot
Both belong to the carrot family and host the same carrot fly and leaf blights, so planting them together stacks the risk. Tall dill also shades and out-competes young carrot tops. They do not cross-pollinate into each other.
Tomato
Young dill is harmless, but mature plants compete for water and light close to tomato stems and can slow them. Keep dill a few feet off, where its flowers still pull in aphid predators.
Lovage
Both belong to the carrot family and host the same leaf blights and leaf-mining flies, so crowding them stacks the risk. Dill also self-sows freely and competes with the lovage crown for light and water. The two plants do not cross.
Sweet Cicely
Both belong to the carrot and parsley family and share carrot fly and the same leaf-spotting problems, so growing them side by side stacks the pressure. Dill also self-seeds thickly and competes with young Sweet Cicely crowns for light and water.
Parsnip
Dill is a fast, tall carrot-family plant that shades young parsnip leaves and self-sows freely through the row, and it carries the same pests. The two are separate species and cannot cross; the real conflict is crowding and shared insects.
Chervil
Dill is a carrot-family relative that hosts the same caterpillars and leaf diseases as chervil, so planting them shoulder to shoulder stacks the risk. Tall dill also out-competes low chervil for light and water.
Mitsuba
Both are carrot-family plants that host the same leaf blights and draw the same aphids and parsley worms, so planting them shoulder to shoulder stacks the risk. Dill also self-sows heavily and shades out slow mitsuba seedlings.
Give the carrot family 3 years away from this spot before any of its relatives return.
The pea and bean family, the cabbage family or the onion family thrive in this ground next season.
Dill is a light feeder and leaves the bed in good tilth with little drawn down. Wait 3 years before returning any carrot-family crop (carrot, parsnip, celery, parsley) to this spot. Peas or beans, a cabbage-family crop, or onions all follow well.
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