Dill is considered one of the most common types of greens due to its ability to be used in the preparation of various dishes. The plant is valued for its taste characteristics and noticeable spicy aroma. Experienced gardeners often plant dill before winter in order to get early shoots of greenery and free up the beds in early spring for the next plantings.
Dill varieties for autumn sowing
When choosing a variety of greens to plant in the fall, it is important to consider several factors. First of all, you need to calculate how long it will take a specific type of dill to sprout.Early varieties ripen 7-10 days earlier than late-ripening ones, but they have less weight and not very dense foliage. Also, early ripening varieties quickly form a stem and are more suitable for germination in film greenhouses. Varieties suitable for autumn sowing include Kibray, Salyut and Umbrella.
In addition, when planting, you should find out what temperature the variety can withstand in order to avoid the death of the sprouts. Popular for autumn planting are bush-type varieties, the seeds of which tolerate frost well and slowly form stems. The optimal temperature for planting all bush varieties is 3-4 degrees.
When is it better to sow dill: in autumn or spring?
The required timing of sowing greens may vary depending on the growing region, soil conditions and atmospheric conditions. Due to dill's ability to withstand frosts down to -3 degrees, the first seeds can be sown in early spring after the snow melts. You can get an early harvest in April if the average temperature exceeds 10 degrees Celsius.
You should sow dill in the fall if you want to get a harvest in early spring. Seeds that have overwintered in the ground begin to germinate 2 weeks earlier than spring plantings. When sowing in autumn, there is a risk that late frosts will lead to freezing of the seedlings.
Timing of winter planting
The most common mistake gardeners make when planting greenery in the winter is choosing the wrong timing. Due to early planting, the seeds germinate quickly, and during the first frost the sprouts die. It is best to sow in November, when the soil is slightly frozen and the seeds will not swell and grow. A month before planting, compost or humus is added to the soil with the addition of potassium-phosphorus fertilizer. Nitrogen fertilizers are not used during winter planting.
Seed preparation
Before sowing dill, you should prepare the seed material. There are several ways to prepare seeds for planting. The simplest of them is to rinse and soak in water for a day to swell. You can add wood ash or other universal fertilizer to the water. The temperature of the soaking liquid should be 20-25 degrees.
During the day, the water should be changed 3-4 times to wash out the substance that slows down germination from the seeds.
Another preparation method involves burying the seeds in damp, unheated soil at a shallow depth 2 weeks before sowing. The seed must first be dried and placed in a fabric bag. Before sowing, the seeds should be spread on paper and dried until scattered.
Preparing the beds
Dill needs open and brightly lit places with fertile, loose soil. In such beds, plants become lush, fragrant and have strong stems. When preparing a bed for planting, you need to dig up the soil deeply, crushing all the lumps, and then add organic fertilizer (humus or compost). After fertilizing the soil, the surface of the bed is leveled.
It is better to place the holes for seeds in open ground in the direction from north to south so that the rows of the crop are evenly illuminated and warmed up. The distance between the rows of dill should be about 20 cm for free formation and development of the root system. Before the first frost sets in, the soil subsides slightly and the bed becomes ready for planting.
Landing
To plant dill, you need to make grooves in the beds no more than 2 cm deep, scatter the seed in them and cover them with earth.If frost is likely, you can protect the beds with covering material. In autumn, greens should be planted at a temperature of 3-4 degrees. After planting, mulching is necessary so that in winter a crust does not form on the soil surface, which can subsequently create an obstacle to germination.
It is not recommended to water the seedlings immediately after sowing, as dry soil will allow moisture to be retained in the soil.
The place for sowing should be well lit and protected from constant wind. It is better to place greens behind vegetables, flowers and other herbs. A significant condition for planting dill is its proximity to crops that favor growth. The plant should not be placed next to caraway and fennel. Suitable precursors include cucumbers, cabbage and vegetable crops with similar characteristics.
Care
The unpretentiousness of the culture allows grow dill subject to the standard list of care rules. To properly grow greens, it is enough to comply with the following requirements:
- Periodically, you need to visually inspect the beds to identify and eliminate weeds.
- Dill needs moderate watering without stagnation of moisture in the soil.
- If a plant is affected by diseases or pests, the beds should be treated with insecticidal fertilizers and damaged parts of greenery should be removed from the beds.
- To protect autumn planting from frost, you can use film or other covering material as an additional measure.
- During the growing season, plants are not fertilized or sprayed with anything, since the use of pesticides can significantly reduce the amount of harvest.
- Repeated sowing of greenery can be carried out every 15-20 days in order to obtain the maximum possible harvest.
- The soil must be regularly maintained in a favorable condition by weeding and loosening.
Harvesting
Dill can be cut when the plant height is 15-20 cm, 3 weeks after germination. When growing bush varieties, greens can be cut multiple times. When collecting, it is recommended to first treat the plants with water and only then trim them at a level of 2 cm from the surface of the ground. The roots should remain in the soil and, with further care, form a new crop. In order for it to be large, bush varieties should be grown.
When growing ordinary types of dill, you can pull out the sprouts with roots, shaking them off the ground and rinsing them in clean water. When fresh, the plant can be stored for 10 days if the crop is left in a cool room or refrigerator. If umbrellas are needed for canning, they can be cut off at the beginning of the seed filling period, 2 months after the first shoots appear. When planting a crop in several approaches, it will be possible to collect fresh greens on an ongoing basis throughout the season.
