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Dill growing

Photo: Unsplash

Half-hardy — needs some protection

When to plant
dill in the UK

Sow direct — dill absolutely hates being transplanted. Short rows every few weeks for continuous supply. Gets to 90cm, so give it a sheltered spot.

8wto harvest
25cmspacing
8°Cmin soil temp
half-hardyhardiness
Plan it for your plot

Work out your own dates

Starts from the recommended sow date for your area. Sowed on a different day, or planted out late? Adjust below and the harvest moves with it.

Using the UK-average last frost · 15 April · add your postcode to tune it

Sow22 April
Harvest from17 June

Growing journey

Direct sow1w after frost
Harvest9w after frost

8 weeks from sowing to harvest

Get dill seeds

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What dill need

Full sun. Sheltered spot. Well-drained soil.

Spacing

25cm

25cm between plants

Give each plant room to spread. Overcrowding reduces yield.

the varieties

Varieties worth growing

Mammoth

common

Tall and feathery, giving masses of leaf before it flowers. The name promises a little more than it delivers in size, but it's the most reliable dill for our conditions, and there's always plenty to cut.

in the kitchen

Gravadlax

Pack a salmon fillet with a crust of salt, sugar, and masses of fresh dill. Wrap tightly, weight down, refrigerate for 48 hours. Slice thin. The dill flavour permeates every layer. Scandi magic.

Dukat

uncommon

A Danish kind chosen for its leaf rather than its seed — slower to flower, which means more weeks of soft fronds for the kitchen. The dill to grow if you cook with it more than you pickle.

in the kitchen

Dill and cucumber salad

Slice cucumber thinly, toss with sour cream, a generous handful of chopped dill, white wine vinegar, and a pinch of sugar. The Scandinavian side dish that appears at every summer table for a reason.

Bouquet

common

Compact and bushy, with dense feathery foliage and more leaf per plant than the tall kinds. Happy in a pot or on a windowsill — fresh dill close at hand, without giving over a whole bed to it.

in the kitchen

Dill sauce for salmon

Mix finely chopped dill with sour cream, a squeeze of lemon, a grating of horseradish, and a pinch of salt. Serve alongside poached or grilled salmon. The sauce that makes fish feel Scandinavian.

When to sow dill

Direct sowAprilMay

Based on UK average frost date. Enter your postcode for exact dates, or find your city.

Seeds

Where to buy dill seeds

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Get your exact dates

Enter your postcode for personalised planting dates for dill.

Keep exploring

Other crops to grow

Broad beans

Pinch out the growing tips once the first pods form to discourage blackfly. They

Peas

Sow every 3 weeks for a continuous harvest. Pick regularly to keep them producin

Lettuce

Sow a short row every 2 weeks and you'll never buy a supermarket bag again. Pick

Spinach

Bolts the moment it gets hot. Best in spring and autumn. Pick little and often —

Radishes

The quickest crop you can grow — seed to plate in 4 weeks. Sow between slower cr

Carrots

Sow thinly to avoid thinning — the smell of crushed leaves is a dinner bell for

Beetroot

Each seed cluster produces several seedlings — thin to the strongest. Don't chuc

Onion sets

Push sets into the soil with the tip just showing. Easiest way to grow onions —

Potatoes (maincrop)

Plant a few weeks after earlies. Earth up as haulms grow. Harvest when foliage d

Potatoes (early)

Chit (sprout) seed potatoes on a windowsill before planting. Earth up as they gr

Kale

Gets sweeter after a frost. One of the hardiest crops — can harvest all winter.

Parsnips

Very slow to germinate (2-4 weeks). Use fresh seed every year. Sow radishes alon

Spring onions

Sow a pinch every few weeks and you'll have spring onions all season. Dead easy

Swiss chard

Beautiful and productive. Pick outer leaves and it keeps going for months. Rainb

Turnips

Harvest when golf-ball sized for the sweetest flavour. Leave them too long and t

Leeks

Drop seedlings into deep holes and just water in — no need to fill the hole. The

Broccoli

Cut the main head first and you'll get side shoots for weeks. Purple sprouting i

Cabbage

Different varieties for each season — spring, summer, autumn, and winter types.

Cauliflower

Fold outer leaves over the curd to keep it white. Cauliflower leaves are delicio

Brussels sprouts

Grow through summer, harvest from autumn through winter. Flavour improves after

Garlic

Plant individual cloves Oct-Nov, pointed end up, 2.5cm deep. Garlic needs a cold

Parsley

Slow to germinate (3-4 weeks) — don't give up on it. Soak seeds overnight in war

Tomatoes

Pinch out side shoots on cordon types. Feed weekly with tomato feed once the fir

Peppers

Start early — they're slow growers. Pinch out the first flower to encourage bush

Chillies

Need heat to germinate — use a propagator or the warmest windowsill you've got.

Cucumbers

Outdoor varieties are tougher and easier than greenhouse ones. Keep picking and

Runner beans

Build a strong frame — they get seriously heavy. Pick every 2-3 days or they go

Aubergine

Start very early — January isn't too soon. Limit to 5-6 fruits per plant if you

Basil

Pinch out flower buds to keep leaves coming. Harvest from the top to encourage b

Strawberries

Plant runners in spring or late summer and you will be picking fruit the followi

Raspberries

Plant bare-root canes in winter for the cheapest option. Summer varieties fruit

Blackberries

Cultivated blackberries produce bigger, sweeter fruit than wild ones and are tho

Gooseberries

One of the easiest fruit bushes for UK allotments. Plant a bare-root bush in win

Blackcurrants

Blackcurrants are packed with vitamin C and make the best jam and cordial. Plant

Redcurrants

Beautiful jewel-like berries that hang in trusses. They tolerate more shade than

Rhubarb

Plant a crown in winter, do not harvest the first year, and it will reward you w