Dill Plant Profile

Dill Plant Profile

Dill (Anethum graveolens) is an annual herb that is native to Eurasia and the Mediterranean. Dill is used in pickling and in such dishes as potato salad, sauerkraut, and fish preparations. It has beautiful ferny foliage and pretty yellow flowers.

In addition to its culinary uses, Dill attracts beneficial insects. It is a host plant for the caterpillar of the black swallowtail butterfly. It was named Herb of the Year in 2010.

Grow it in full sun and in well-draining soil--protected from strong winds. It is hardy to USDA zones 2 to 11.

Dill is best started by direct-sowing seeds in the ground. It can also be grow in containers. (It has a long taproot, so it doesn’t like to be moved or transplanted.) To have a continual supply of dill, sow a new row of seeds every few weeks.

You should occasionally weed around the plants and thin out the new seedlings once they are a few inches high. Pinch off the flower heads to encourage fuller leaf growth, which is the main part you will harvest for use in cooking.

Once the dill plant has 5-6 leaves on it, you can start harvesting them. To harvest the leaves, pinch or snip them off with kitchen scissors. Select the older leaves first.

Towards the end of the season, let the dill flower and form seedheads. Collect the seeds for use in cooking and to plant some for next year. If you let the seeds fall where they are growing, they will often self-sow next season.

It is deer-resistant and makes a charming addition to a cut-flower bouquet.

Dill: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine as part of our Plant Profile series for Mid-Atlantic USA gardeners.

Audio and text by Kathy Jentz

Video and editing by Madison Korman

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If you enjoyed this Plant Profile, check out:

~ Borage Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/07/borage-plant-profile.html

~ Bronze Fennel Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/07/bronze-fennel-plant-profile.html

~ Yarrow Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/06/yarrow-plant-profile.html

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Lyreleaf Sage Plant Profile

Lyreleaf Sage Plant Profile

Lyreleaf Sage (Salvia lyrata) is a perennial plant that is native to the eastern half of the United States. It has pretty lavender-blue flowers in spring.

The basal foliage resembles that of the dandelion, but the leaves have a reddish-purple veining.

Lyreleaf Sage is a member of the mint family. It can reseed itself and establish into a small colony to form a nice groundcover.

It can grow in full sun to part shade and prefers well-draining soils. It is hardy to USDA Zones 5 to 8.

The flowers attract bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. It is fairly deer-resistant as well.

It is a medicinal herb that was once thought to cure cancer. Lyreleaf Sage is edible and is collected as a wild salad green in the early- to mid-springtime.

Lyreleaf Sage: You Can Grow That!

 

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine.

Audio, Photos, Video, and Text by Kathy Jentz Editing by Madison Korman

 

➤ If you enjoy this video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our Youtube channel (thank you!)

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If you liked this video, we think you will like these other Plant Profiles: 

Trout Lily Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2025/04/trout-lily-plant-profile.html

 Virginia Bluebells Plant Profile

 https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2018/04/plant-profile-virginia-bluebells.html

 Baptisia Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/07/baptisia-plant-profile.html

 Spring Beauty Plant Profile

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/04/plant-profile-spring-beauty-claytonia.html

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GardenDC Podcast Episode 197: Growing Herbs in Shade

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we talk with returning guest Kim Roman of Square Foot Gardening 4 U about growing herbs in the shade. The plant profile is on Blue-eyed Grass and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events and this week's garden tasks in the What's New segment. We close out with the Last Word on Zucchini Lasagna from Christy Page
of Green Prints.

If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 116: Miniature Vegetables

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/08/gardendc-podcast-episode-116-miniature.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 3: Cool-Season Edible Gardening

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/03/gardendc-podcast-episode-3.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 157: Ginger and Turmeric

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2023/07/gardendc-podcast-episode-157-ginger-and.html

This episode is archived at: 

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/episodes/Growing-Herbs-in-Shade-e2k7t5s

BTW, YOU can become a listener supporter for as little as $0.99 per month! 

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SHOW NOTES: 0:58 Welcome back Kim Roman of Square Foot Gardening 4 U 1:49 Kim talks about her new book “Growing Herbs for Health, Wellness, Cooking and Crafts” and teases a third book 4:40 What Kim is growing in her garden in North East, Maryland 5:45 Defining shade 7:07 How shade affects plant growth 9:26 Kim’s favorite type of mulch around herbs 9:44 Why Kim uses raised beds instead of growing in ground 11:21 Using Mel’s Mix and modified soil mixes 12:28 The pot-in-pot method and how it helps with wind protection 14:14 Catnip and how that herb is for more than cats 15:00 Consulting an herbalist Michelle Guerrero Denison, The Twig & Feather 16:53 Parsley - how it grows in shade and uses of the herb 18:48 Tips for Parsley seed germination 19:38 Buying herbs in the Mid-Atlantic Richardson’s Floral Center, Newark, DE Sharp’s at Waterford Farm, Brookeville, MD Baltimore Herb Festival, Baltimore, MD 21:04 Kathy shares a story about Chives and cats 22:01 Kim talks about growing Chives 23:27 Oregano growth and usage 24:28 Mint and growing it in the shade to make it less invasive 27:04 Lemon Balm benefits 27:59 Tarragon vs. French Tarragon 28:55 Thyme and Sage, “It’s all about the drainage” 29:56 Cilantro and defining herbs 32:30 Keeping Cilantro in the shade helps it last longer 33:02 How much sun does Ginger need? 34:35 Chervil and lowering blood pressure 35:28 Hyssop 36:18 Calendula 38:15 Kim’s favorite and least favorite herbs 39:28 “If you were to have just one pot, say on a balcony, and your balcony wasn't getting direct sun, what herbs would you recommend that person grow in that pot?” 41:25 Find Kim on her website sfg4u.com and on social media @SquareFootGarden4U @CulinaryHerbsForWellness and @YourIndoorFoodGarden 42:01 Kim’s final words, “Never get discouraged” 43:04 Plant Profile: Blue-Eyed Grass 44:41 What’s new in the garden this week? 45:31 Upcoming events in the Maryland, D.C., and Virginia area You can find out more about those at extension.umd.edu, silverspringgardenclub.com, and mdflora.org 47:22 Washingtion Gardener will be at ​​Lotus and Water Lily Festival at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington, DC this July 47:37 The May issue of the Washington Gardener Magazine is available at https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/ 48:35 Check out Groundcover Revolution by Kathy Jentz for low-maintenance alternatives for lawns on Amazon.com and Bookshop.org 51:00 Guilt-free zucchini lasagna with Christy Page from Food Gardening Network

Please vote for GardenDC in the first-ever GardenComm’s People’s Choice Horti Awards.

Voting happens now through 6/15. Go HERE: 

https://awards.gardencomm.org/horti-awards-2024

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We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

And be sure to leave us a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform plus share us on social media with #GardenDC, so other gardeners can find us too!

Episode Credits:
Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz
Interview Edit and Show Notes: Josh Panepento

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 Growing Herbs for Health, Wellness, Cooking, and Crafts: Includes 51 Culinary Herbs & Spices, 25 Recipes, and 18 Crafts* by Kim Roman 

*This is an Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3KpPy1j 

If you order after clicking the link we made receive a few pennies, but it will not effect the cost of your books and other products.

Win a copy of Growing Herbs for Health, Wellness, Cooking, and Crafts by Kim Roman in the May 2024 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest

 

Win a copy of Growing Herbs for Health, Wellness, Cooking, and Crafts: Includes 51 Culinary Herbs & Spices, 25 Recipes, and 18 Crafts* by Kim Roman in the May 2024 Washington Gardener Magazine Reader Contest! (The prize retail value is $19.99.)

   Learn everything you need to know to start your own culinary herb garden in this comprehensive guide about how to get started growing herbs and spices, whether indoors or outdoors. The book includes 51 useful herb plant profiles, including echinacea, St. John’s Wort, turmeric, elderberry, ginger, chamomile, Tulsi (holy basil), anise, hyssop, and many more. The author also shares a few of her favorite recipes where herbs are the star ingredient, including marinades, salad vinaigrettes, infused oils, delicious cocktails or mocktails, herbed and plain focaccia bread, teas, and more.

  To enter to win the gift card, send an email to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@

gmail.com by 5:00pm on Friday, May 31, with “Growing Herbs” in the subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in the May 2024 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine issue and why. Include your full name and address. The winner will be announced on June 1.

*Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3KpPy1j 
If you order after clicking the link we made receive a few pennies, but it will not effect the cost of your books and other products.

Cilantro Plant Profile

Cilantro Plant Profile

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) is an herb that is used in cooking as a flavoring and spice. Cilantro is a pretty plant with lace-like foliage that blends well with ornamental plants in a container or grown in the ground. It is in the same family as dill, parsley, carrots, and celery.

It grows best in full sun and well-draining soils. Amend your soil with compost and plant it from seed directly into the ground. It is usually quick to germinate and you can start harvesting it in a matter of weeks.

Harvest it by cutting off some leaves with kitchen scissors and using them fresh or drying or freezing them in an ice cube with olive oil. Cutting the leaves regularly keeps the plant healthy and encourages more leaf production.

Cilantro is loved by several garden pests so you may need to put a cover cloth over it to keep them out.

Cilantro grows best in the cool-seasons of spring and fall in our region. When the weather heats up, the plants bolt – that is, they set flower and form seeds. That is a good thing though as you can collect these edible seeds (also known as coriander) for planting next season and also use them in the kitchen as a spice.

Cilantro: You Can Grow That!

The video was produced by Washington Gardener Magazine as part of our Plant Profile series for Mid-Atlantic USA gardeners.

Audio and text by Kathy Jentz

Video and editing by Cassie Peo

➤ If you enjoy this video, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our Youtube channel (thank you!)

➤Remember to TURN ON notifications to know when our new videos are out

➤ FIND Washington Gardener Magazine ONLINE

~ WashingtonGardener.blogspot.com

~ http://twitter.com/WDCGardener

~ https://www.instagram.com/wdcgardener/

~ Facebook.com/WashingtonGardenerMagazine

~ Podcast: GardenDC

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