I have become addicted to dill in my nightly salad. I would like to grow some indoors for winter harvesting, under grow lights.
Any recommendations for a type that will grow shorter, but have a lot of flavor.
Also, does anyone grow sprouts from dill seeds? How are they?
Thanks!
Dill for indoor planting
Hey polly -
I love Dill for all kinds of things - it's one of my favorite herbs;o) I have never however met a short Dill - lol... You can keep it cut back to a manageable size and it will keep on growing. I've grown it inside successfully in an Aerogarden for a long time before transplanting it to the garden and it did just fine. Got too tall I chopped it back;o)
Kelly
I will give it a try then, and keep chopping back. Thanks Kelly!
You're welcome! Let us know how it goes;o)
P.S. Dill is great in the spring garden as an aphid magnet. I sacrifice some to save my other stuff from the aphids!
I've been planting it in pots in my herb garden. Haven't seen any aphids, come to think of it. I probably ate them all on the dill.
LOL - a little protein in your salad? Maybe you're one of the lucky ones who doesn't get aphids;o)
No, unfortunately I do. I'm a commercial iris grower, and have to use a soil drench in the spring to keep them away. Can't ship aphids.
But not near my herb garden.
Yeah! Maybe there are some goodies in there that keep them away. So the aphids like your Iris, eh? Boo!
Aphids love irises. And of course, they carry virus from one plant to another.
Thompson and Morgan list a miniature dill - 12"- called 'Bouquet'.
http://www.tandmworldwide.com/seeds1/product/423/1.html
I grow Bouquet and it gets way taller than 12" in my garden;o) It is "smaller" than some others though...
Thanks patgeorge! That one might be easier to keep cut back, like Kelly suggested, too.
Just browsing through the forums. I too like dill but only get it in the summer. It grows like a weed here. I don't remember seeing any aphids on my dill either. I enjoy seeing the swallowtail caterpillar on the dill.
Okra is the biggest aphid magnet in my garden.
I miss fresh basil the most in the winter; also cilantro and dill.
Hi Birder! I took Kelly's advice and am growing Bouquet. It's doing well under grow lights, and I'm getting enough to put on my salads. With ranch dressing it's yum! I also grew some dill sprouts in my sprouter and they were very good.
Thanks Poly, I will try to order some of that seed and try it next winter indoors.
Enjoy those salads!
Glad it's doing well polly;o) I've got some in the garden right now. Took a little hit with the cold weather we've been having, but should bounce back fine. The more you keep it trimmed the more it grows - lol.
Believe me, I've been trimming it, LOL, and now with the New Years diet, what better?
LOL - yeah for Dill! I ♥ it on grilled fish too...
You are making me hungry!! I started the Dr. Oz "You on a Diet" yesterday. Yuck!
It's pretty close to vegan! I am only taking 5 days of menus at a time.
I did not realize one should keep cutting dill to keep it growing. I usually just picked some of the leaves etc. off of tall plants.
So, how does one do this? Do you cut the hollow stems? I would think that would kill the plant.
If you look at the Bouquet dill on this site, it's exactly what mine looks like, although not that busy under grow lights. I just keep chopping off that foliage. It hasn't gone to seed at all. The Bouquet dill has a different foliage. It's a strong dill flavor, too.
http://www.hawthornfarm.ca/herbs.html
Thanks. Makes me want to get some now and try it under my lights in my basement!
I've got to tell you, since I planted the Bouquet dill, I started cutting it in mid December, and have had it almost daily on my salad. It is just wonderful.
Soak some cucumbers in vinegar, and cut up the dill on it. Yummo.
A big thanks to Kelly and Patgeorge for telling me about this kind.
I need to grow some indoors.. The aphids kill every seedling I can get to come up outside. I can't get enough fresh dill.. Thankz for the idea. I have flower heads out there with seeds! :)