BACK


    
Common Name
Dill or Dill Weed
Scientific Name
Anethum graveolens
Habit
Upright, hollow-stalked hardy annual with smooth, shiny stems. In midsummer it bears flat terminal umbels with many yellow flowers.The seeds, are produced in huge quantities, an ounce containing over 25,000 seeds. Their germinating capacity lasts for three years. The whole plant is aromatic.
Hardiness
Dill can be grown all summer in USDA zones 3-7, in spring and fall in zone 8, and in the winter in zones 9-11.
Soil & Site
Dill does best in full sun; it becomes leggy in partial shade. Prefers well drained soil with average garden watering. It may bolt quickly to flower during a prolonged dry spell.
History & Lore
Native originally to southwestern Asia, dill is now naturalized in many parts of Europe and the northern US. Dill is a traditional Middle Eastern herb that has been important since Biblical times. Its leaves and flowers were found on a 12,000 year-old mummy, and the Egyptians used it medicinally. Dill has also been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years, and Pliny extolled its virtues in the first century AD. The name is derived from the old Norse word, dilla (to lull), in reference to its carminative properties.
Suggested Uses
Culinary      
Combined with melted butter it makes an excellent, easy sauce for fish. Like most culinary herbs, fresh dill leaves are much more complex in flavor then the dried. Add to rice or practically any soup. The seeds are somewhat stronger then the leaf. A sprig added to a bottle of vinegar is a must-try. Does not combine well with other herbs, but is great with mustard.

Health
Like the other umbelliferous fruits and volatile oils, both dill fruit and oil of dill are thought to have stimulant, aromatic, carminative and stomachic properties, making them of great medicinal value historically. One of oil of dill's most common uses is in the preparation of dill water, which is a common domestic remedy for colicky infants.
Fun Facts
With its lacy blue-green foliage and showy umbels, dill makes a lovely garden border, and is much loved by butterflies. It also attracts beneficial garden insects, so scatter a few plants throughout your garden. The dried flower heads look great in flower arrangements.
Dill and Collyflower Pickle
'Boil the Collyflowers till they fall inpieces; then with some of the stalk and worst of the flower boil it in a part of the liquer till pretty strong. Then being taken off strain it- and when settled, clean it from the bottom. Then with Dill, gross pepper, a pretty quantity of salt, when cold add as much vinegar as will make it sharp and pour all upon the Collyflower.' (From Acetaria, a book about Sallets, 1680, by John Evelyn.)

Back to Top