Anethum graveolens
Dill, bastard fennel, false anise, fragrant dill: its subtle aroma combines anise, wild fennel and a hint of mint. It is the indispensable aromatic herb for salmon and Scandinavian marinades, and one of the few whose feathery foliage and seeds are both used.
Characteristics:
-
Two harvests: fresh foliage all summer, followed by aromatic seeds in autumn.
-
Feathery foliage: very finely divided, bluish and decorative in flower beds as well as in the vegetable garden.
-
Bee-friendly flowers: large, highly fragrant yellow umbels that fill the garden with their scent.
-
Fast growth: first harvest six to eight weeks after sowing.
Sowing advice:
-
Location: full sun and warmth, sheltered from strong winds — its hollow stems break easily.
-
Soil: light, well drained and rather dry. It does not need any special additions; soil that is too rich produces soft stems that flop.
-
Method: sow directly in place from April to July — its taproot tolerates transplanting very poorly, which is the most common cause of failure. Sow at a depth of 1 cm, staggering sowings every three weeks to extend the harvest. See how to sow your seeds.
Care advice:
- Thin to 20 cm apart. Water moderately: it prefers drought to excess water.
- Stake the tallest plants in windy locations.
Harvest advice:
- Harvest the foliage as needed, before flowering. It freezes well but dries poorly: its delicate aroma almost completely disappears when dried.
- For the seeds, cut the umbels when they turn brown, before the seeds fall, and finish drying them in a sheltered place.
Beneficial plant combinations:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its large yellow umbels are true landing platforms for hoverflies and beneficial parasitoid wasps, whose larvae devour aphids. Deliberately leave a few plants to flower.
- Like all plants in the carrot family, it is a host plant for swallowtail caterpillars.
Uses:
- Fresh foliage with fish, shellfish, fresh cheeses, salads, soups and sauces — Scandinavian gravlax owes it everything. Seeds are used in marinades, pickled gherkins, breads and vinegars.
- A traditional medicinal plant, cultivated since ancient Egypt. See our medicinal plants to sow.
Harvesting your own seeds:
This is the harvest itself: let a few umbels ripen completely and dry them upside down in a paper bag. Dill also readily self-seeds from one year to the next. See how to store your seeds.
Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne volcanoes, we choose reproducible, non-hybrid varieties, test them for germination rates, and carefully sort and package them without any chemical treatment. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to sow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
One plant, two harvests, and a magnet for beneficial insects in the vegetable garden.
