Gardening

VERSATILE PLANT Dill leaves can enhance many dishes.

Celery’s cousin

Growing dill can be easy and rewarding

By KATE RUSSELL

Dill’s delicate fronds and distinct aroma make it a useful addition to your garden.

Known for elevating pickled cucumbers, asparagus and green beans to new heights, dill (Anethum graveolens) is a cousin to celery. Dill oil, extracted from seeds, stems and leaves, is used to make soap.

Dill can reach a height of two to four feet, making it only slightly smaller than fennel, which has a similar feathery growth. Flowers are white or yellow umbels (think umbrellas) that attract many beneficial insects. Dill seeds look like tiny brownish-gray orange slices. Once seeds start forming, leaf production is over and the plant will soon die. But worry not, dear gardeners! Dill reseeds itself easily. Seeds from a single plant can create an entire bed of dill in future seasons. To collect seeds for kitchen use, remove seed heads and hang upside down over a bowl or in a pillowcase. Seeds will fall when they are mature, and the flower head can be added to the compost pile to feed next year’s generation.

Dill is a biennial that is grown as an annual. Dill does not transplant well, so site selection is your first step. Dill prefers lots of sun, though partial shade can be tolerated. Shadier sites will result in less bushy plants. You can easily grow dill in a container that is at least 12 inches deep. This will make room for dill’s taproot (“Fernleaf” is a dwarf variety best suited for containers). Seeds should be planted a quarter- to half-inch deep and the soil kept moist until seedlings emerge. Seedlings should be thinned to 12 inches apart. Once plants are established, allow the soil to dry out between waterings. Side dressing plants with aged compost during the growing season will provide important nutrients (side dressing simply means dumping an amendment around a plant and watering it).

Dill has very few pests, thanks to the volatile oils that give it its flavor. Tomato hornworms and parsley caterpillars may be seen and can be handpicked. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) or insecticidal soap can be used to treat severe infestations. Dill is relatively disease-free.

Dill leaves enhance many dishes. Simply snip off what you need. You can also dry dill leaves for later use by placing cut leaves between cloth napkins or paper towels, laid on top of nonmetallic screens to dry, and then storing in an airtight container. Dill leaves can also be frozen. You can keep harvested leaves fresh by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and refrigerating them for up to a week in a sealable container. Growing dill is easy and rewarding. Give it a try!