Dill
| Dill characteristics:
Dill is a tall wispy plant with soft yellow flowers resembling a fireworks display. Both the seeds and plant are cultivated from this versatile plant that grows up to 4' tall. Growing dill: Dill does not transplant and should be planted from seed. Sow the seeds 1/4" deep in moist soil as dill germinates slowly. Dill loves sunny, acidic soil. Keep the soil consistently moist during germination and continue into maturity. Drying out dill causes the plant to prematurely flower.
Harvesting dill: Dill weed: Allow the plant to reach 1' then cut off as needed. Dill weed is best cut before the plant flowers. Dill seed: Cut the plants. Tie them into clumps and hang them upside down with a paper bag secured over the bunch to catch the seeds as they drop. Harvest Dill seed when the seed heads become thoroughly brown. A photograph of a cut stalk of ready-to-go seed is below. Store in an breathable container, such as an envelope, at least for the first few weeks. This ensures that the seeds are completely dry, after which they can be transferred to an airtight container without concern for mold. Uses: Dill is best known for seasoning pickles but is delicious in many recipes for meat, fish and poultry.
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Uses:
The seed is sharp, and has a more pungent flavor
than the leaves, which are mildly tangy. It is used to flavor
vinegars and mustard-based sauces and dressings. It also works
with tomatoes, fish (especially Salmon), eggs, pickles (obviously),
salads, and vegetables.
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| ---Description---The
plant grows ordinarily from 2 to 2 1/2 feet high and is very like
fennel, though smaller, having the same feathery leaves, which stand on
sheathing foot-stalks, with linear and pointed leaflets. Unlike fennel,
however, it has seldom more than one stalk and its long, spindle-shaped
root is only annual. It is of very upright growth, its stems smooth,
shiny and hollow, and in midsummer bearing flat terminal umbels with
numerous yellow flowers, whose small petals are rolled inwards. The flat
fruits, the so-called seeds, are produced in great quantities. They are
very pungent and bitter in taste and very light, an ounce containing
over 25,000 seeds. Their germinating capacity lasts for three years. The
whole plant is aromatic.
The plant was placed by Linnaeus in a separate genus, Anethum, whence the name Fructus Anethi, by which Dill fruit goes in medicine. It is now included in the genus Peucedanum. ---Cultivation---This annual is of very easy culture. When grown on a large scale for the sake of its fruits, it may be sown in drills 10 inches apart, in March or April, 10 lb. of the seed being drilled to the acre, and thinned out to leave 8 to 10 inches room each way Sometimes the seed is sown in autumn as soon as ripe, but it is not so advisable as spring sowing. Careful attention must be given to the destruction of weeds. The crop is considered somewhat exhaustive of soil fertility. ---Harvesting---Mowing starts as the lower seeds begin, the others ripening on the straw. In dry periods, cutting is best done in early morning or late evening, care being taken to handle with the least possible shaking to prevent loss. The loose sheaves are built into stacks of about twenty sheaves, tied together. In hot weather, threshing may be done in the field, spreading the sheaves on a large canvas sheet and beating out. The average yield is about 7 cwt. of Dill fruits per acre. The seeds are finally dried by spreading out on trays in the sun, or for a short time over the moderate heat of a stove, shaking occasionally. Dill fruits are oval, compressed, winged about one-tenth inch wide, with three longitudinal ridges on the back and three dark lines or oil cells (vittae) between them and two on the flat surface. The taste of the fruits somewhat resembles caraway. The seeds are smaller, flatter and lighter than caraway and have a pleasant aromatic odour. They contain a volatile oil (obtained by distillation) on which the action of the fruit depends. The bruised seeds impart their virtues to alcohol and to boiling water.
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