When to sow dill

Dill likes warmth. Sow it outdoors once the soil has warmed in spring, usually from April, and keep sowing until July in the UK and into August in milder parts of Central Europe. In cold soil it sits and waits.

A single sowing gives leaves for only a few weeks before the plants run up to flower. For a steady supply, sow a small batch every three to four weeks.

Dill resents root disturbance and tends to bolt straight into flower when transplanted. If you do start it indoors, sow a few seeds per module and plant the whole clump out young, about four weeks after sowing, before the taproot gets long.

Give dill a warm, sunny and sheltered spot. It grows in partial shade too, but more slowly and with fewer leaves. The soil should be loose, humus-rich and free-draining: dill dislikes cold, soggy ground.

Sow thinly in shallow drills about 12 in apart, or broadcast in a patch. Cover the seed only lightly, no more than 0.4 in; sources disagree on whether dill needs light to germinate, and a thin covering works either way while stopping the seed blowing away.

Keep the soil evenly moist until the seedlings appear, which takes one to four weeks depending on warmth. Thin them to about 8 in apart if you want bushy plants; for a patch of young leaves to cut, you can leave them closer.

Water regularly in dry weather. Heat and drought, like transplanting, push dill into flower early, and once it bolts the leaves become sparse.

Beyond that, dill needs little. Keep weeds down around young plants, and check for aphids, which like the soft shoot tips.

Start cutting leaves when the plants are well established, about six weeks after sowing. Take young fronds as you need them and leave at least a third of the plant so it keeps growing.

Fresh leaves wilt fast, so use them straight away. To keep them, freeze the chopped leaves; dried dill loses much of its flavour.

For seed, let a few plants flower. Cut the heads in late summer when the seeds turn brown, dry them upside down in a paper bag in a warm, dry place, then store the seed in an airtight jar. Flower heads picked while still green are the classic addition to pickled gherkins.

Aphids are the most common pest, along with slugs and snails on young seedlings. Beneficial insects such as lacewings help keep them in check.

The main disease is a Fusarium wilt: plants yellow, wilt and die, often in patches. The fungus survives in the soil, which is why dill should not follow itself or other carrot-family crops.

Dill belongs to the carrot family (Apiaceae) with carrots, parsnips, parsley, celery and fennel. Leave about four years before dill or any of these grows in the same place again.

Dill is traditionally sown with cucumbers, carrots or brassicas, and its open flowers are visited by many insects. Whether that protects the neighbouring crop is not well shown; treat it as a pleasant tradition.

Two practical cautions: dill is itself a carrot-family plant, so don't count it as a rotation break among carrots or parsnips, and seed savers keep it well apart from fennel.