As I mentioned in my last post, my garden is growing like crazy! My dill, specifically, is growing like a weed.
I had to do a little research to find out when dill is ready to be harvested, but based on the size of the plant I figured it had to be soon.
- Harvesting Dill: As dill grows rather quickly, the leaves are ready for use in 6 to 8 weeks after planting. Always water your dill plant a day before harvesting dill. Doing so will make sure that the plants are well hydrated and recover quickly. Then take older leaves first unless you have a lot of dill. Use a pair of shart and sterile scissors for snipping the leaves
So I got my trusty scissors out and got to work.
Next, much like the lasgna I made ealier this week, was the easy part. This isn’t my first time making a dill pickle pasta salad, but it is certainly my first time using fresh dill. And it turned out fantastic. I am so excited to have fresh dill all summer long.
Later this summer I hope to teach myself a second new skill – making homemade dill pickles with my garden dill!
Wow, your dill is thriving! Coincidentally, I was just looking for fresh dill at the grocery store today and could not find any. I thought to myself after that I should be growing my own! Thanks for the tips and tricks on growing dill. We will definitely be trying this out in my household asap!
The dill has been so easy to grow! I hate to say that I’ve done nothing, but I’ve pretty much done nothing. I give it a daily water and it grows non-stop. In the future though, send me a message and you can come take some because I don’t think there will be any way I can use it all. I’m a bit stressed about it!
I have an amazing dill pickle recipe as well as a pickled carrot recipe that I will get to you. Fresh dill is one of the major ingredients that help in making them taste great! Your salad looks amazing and has made me hungry. I think I might need to make this for supper tomorrow.
Yes please! I will need all the recipes I can get because I think I have enough dill for the whole city to can at least 3 jars of pickles.
It’s nice to have a project where you can see the progress and then have a practical use for it. I’ve been harvesting rhubarb (a much easier process thankfully) and using it to bake with my son. He takes a lot of pride in gathering, preparing, and using the rhubarb. Maybe next year I will try something like this with my son. Are you planning on taking these indoors to grow year round?
I have been looking at bringing everything indoors for the winter, but unfortunately I don’t think we have the space for it. We also have two very mischievous cats that would for sure make a mess of it. I am a bit sad about it, but maybe I can figure something out before October comes around.
Mariah – the title caught my attention; anytime it’s dill o’clock, I’m in! I also couldn’t find any, so you have fortuitously chosen an excellent herb to grow. Isn’t it gratifying??
So gratifying! But at this point, I am drowning in dill! The first goal of summer holidays – pickles!
Dilled Carrots
9C Water
2C Vinegar
3/4C Pickling Salt
Bring ingredients to a boil and fill jars.
Wash carrots, slice larger ones, pack into sterile jars with 1-2 sprays of dill and 1-3 cloves of garlic. Fill jars with hot brine and seal.
Grandma’s Dills
3 quarts water (12C)
3/4C Pickling Salt
Bring to a boil then add 1 quart Vinegar (4C)
1/2 tsp Alum
Bring back to a boil
2 heads of dill, 1-2 garlic cloves, whole/sliced pickling cucumbers in sterilized jars. Fill with liquid to 1/4″ of the top and seal.
Hope that you enjoy! The pickled carrots can also be done with beans.
Oh!!! Thank you so much! I am so excited to give this a try this summer.