How to plant dill so it sprouts quickly in open ground

Dill is a wonderful herb that will make any dish much more delicious. It sprouts quickly and grows successfully year-round: outdoors in summer and spring, and indoors on a windowsill in winter. Growing dill in your garden or at home is quite easy if you know the basic rules for planting and caring for it. And to ensure abundant greenery, choose the most productive variety.

How to plant dill so it sprouts quickly outdoors in spring

Dill is an easy-to-grow plant. It germinates quickly and grows quickly, so fresh young greens are ready for culinary purposes just a few days after sowing. It can be sown as early as early spring, starting in March, if the soil has warmed to 3-4°C and the air temperature reaches 15°C.

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The seeds of this aromatic plant germinate slowly due to their high essential oil content. This process can be accelerated by properly preparing the seeds before sowing.

For rapid germination of seeds, we recommend:

• pour them into a cotton bag and then place them in a deep plate or glass jar;
• pour warm water over it and leave for a day.

During the specified time, the liquid should be changed periodically (at least six times), maintaining a certain temperature. Soaking the seeds in growth stimulants is also helpful. You can use "Epin" (if using the product, strictly follow the instructions).

To ensure that this fragrant plant sprouts as quickly as possible in open ground in spring, you should know and follow a simple sowing algorithm:

1. Choose a garden bed and loosen the soil well beforehand. A sunny spot with fertile, neutral-acidic soil that allows for good aeration and drainage is ideal for sowing greens.
2. Make furrows 1-1.5 cm deep, the optimal distance between rows should be at least 15-20 cm.
3. Place the seeds in the holes (every 1-2 cm);
4. Sprinkle the plantings with a layer of soil (no more than 1.5 cm);
5. Compact the soil slightly with your hand.

When sowing dill in open beds in early spring, cover the seedlings with plastic film or spunbond. This will speed up germination and protect the seedlings from the cold. Once the sprouts emerge, the covering can be removed periodically to allow the plants and soil to air out. The greens will thrive at temperatures of 18–20°C.

How to plant dill so it sprouts quickly outdoors in summer: photo

To ensure dill sprouts quickly and grows well in summer, plant it in beds previously occupied by cabbage, beets, cucumbers, and legumes. It's not recommended to sow dill after carrots. Sowing can be done every two weeks.

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Before sowing the seeds, the soil must be prepared. For this purpose, it is recommended to add compost or a mixture of ammonium (20 g) and urea (15 g). Three days before sowing, the seeds should be soaked in warm water or growth stimulants. Seed germination can be accelerated by digging into the soil.

Proper planting of dill for the winter

Winter sowing of greens is done to ensure a harvest in early spring. There are some specific considerations in preparing and carrying out the procedure.

To ensure dill grows well, you need to:

• carefully prepare the soil (dig deeply, break up clods, add organic fertilizers a month before the planned sowing date);
• germinate the seeds (three days before planting, wrap them in cotton cloth, dip them in hot water for a minute, then place them in warm water for several days; the finished seeds should be dried before planting).

Dill is sown before winter in November. The optimal daytime temperature is up to 4°C. At night, the thermometer should not drop below –3°C.

The seeds are placed in pre-prepared furrows (they are made 1.5 cm deeper than for spring planting), covered with soil, and compacted. Straw or sawdust mulch is placed on top.

Greens are planted in either rows or fans. In the former, rows are planted longitudinally, with a 20-cm spacing between rows. Seeds are distributed evenly in the furrows. This creates neat, even rows.

With the second planting option, the rows are also made evenly spaced, but the seeds are fanned out. This way, the snow will better and more evenly cover the crops, and the foliage will grow low and fluffy in the spring, with plenty of green shoots.

How many days does it take for dill to sprout after sowing?

When dill is planted in the spring, the emergence of the first shoots depends on the ambient temperature. At 4–6°C, seeds germinate in 15–18 days. If the thermometer reads between 19–20°C, the young shoots will appear within two weeks.

If dill was sown in late autumn, the harvest can be collected immediately after the spring season, when the first green leaves appear. The crop germinates best and faster in acidic soil, which contains a high concentration of essential oils.

Dill varieties for open ground

Dill varieties differ in their ripening time. There are early, mid-season, and late varieties.

Among the first, the most popular names are:

• Grenadier;
• Gribovsky;
• Further;
• Redoubt;
• Umbrella;
• Anchor.

Early dill grows 30–40 days after sowing.

The most popular mid-season varieties are:

• Lesnogorodsky;
• Amazon;
• Richelieu;
• Patterns;
• Buyan;
• Max;
• Abundantly foliated;
• Bushy;
• Hercules.

The harvest can be collected 45–50 days after planting.

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Among the late-ripening greens, the best are considered to be Borei, Inei, Kutuzovsky, Dill, Pavlin, Kibray, Salut, Alligator, Imperator, and Ozornik. The greens themselves grow in 40–50 days. However, it takes up to three months for the umbels to appear and the seeds to ripen.

Growing dill is not difficult. But this garden crop, like any other, requires attention and proper care. With proper sowing and care, you can provide yourself with fresh herbs year-round. To ensure the plant thrives outdoors, it's important to properly prepare the soil and choose the optimal planting pattern. You can sow the plant every two weeks, and the beds will need to be thinned periodically to prevent it from becoming too dense.