How to Grow Dill Herbs
- 1). Plant in the late winter. In order to aid the plant in growing as large as possible within the given time before the coming fall it is best to grow Dill indoors under controlled conditions. Mix a generous amount of time released fertilizer granules and a handful of perlite into each of your pots. Dill is very exhaustive of the soil, needing much nutrients as well as a soil that is loose and well draining.
- 2). Place up to a dozen Dill seeds into each pot. Push the seeds about an inch deep into the soil and water them lightly.
- 3). Place the pots under a high intensity lamp for eight hours a day. A sodium or halide lamp is ideal as opposed to a fluorescent lamp. The Dill plants will germinate in about 10 days and be up to six inches high eight weeks after planting.
- 4). Water each day to keep the soil moist. Dill is prone to mold and mildew infections so be sure to spray them with an appropriate all-purpose fungicide monthly. As the nutritional needs of Dill are so great, be sure to use any generic liquid fertilizer once every two weeks. You should be able to take cuttings from your dill plants as you need them for cooking by early summer.
- 5). Harvest the dill by uprooting it in late August or early September. Do this simply by grasping the plant by the base of the stalk and pulling it from the earth. By this time your Dill plants will be as large but the seeds will not have dropped yet.