Anethum graveolens
Dill, bastard fennel, false anise, fragrant dill: its subtle aroma combines anise, wild fennel, and a hint of mint. It is the essential herb for salmon and Scandinavian marinades, and one of the few herbs whose feathery foliage and seeds are both used.
Characteristics:
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Two harvests: fresh foliage all summer, followed by aromatic seeds in autumn.
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Feathery foliage: very finely divided, bluish, and decorative in flowerbeds as well as in the vegetable garden.
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Honey-producing flowers: large, highly fragrant yellow umbels that fill the garden with their scent.
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Fast growth: first harvest six to eight weeks after sowing.
Sowing advice:
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Position: full sun and warmth, sheltered from strong winds — its hollow stems break easily.
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Soil: light, well-drained, and rather dry. It needs no particular amendments; soil that is too rich produces soft stems that flop.
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Method: sow directly in place from April to July — its taproot does not tolerate transplanting well, which is the most common cause of failure. Sow 1 cm deep, staggering sowings every three weeks to spread out the harvest. See how to sow your seeds.
Care advice:
- Thin to 20 cm apart. Water moderately: it prefers dry conditions to excess water.
- Stake the tallest plants in windy locations.
Harvest advice:
- Harvest the foliage as needed, before flowering. It freezes well but does not dry well: its delicate aroma almost entirely 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 pairings:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its large yellow umbels are real landing platforms for hoverflies and beneficial parasitoid wasps, whose larvae devour aphids. Deliberately leave a few plants to flower.
- Like all umbellifers, 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. The 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 fully and dry them upside down in a paper bag. Dill readily self-seeds from one year to the next. See storing your seeds.
Our commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Volcanoes of Auvergne, 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.
