How to Harvest Dill for Flavor-Packed Meals All Season Long

An annual, cold hardy herb, dill is generally grown for its culinary uses, adding flavor to dips, salads, soups, eggs, and more. How you intend to use dill can impact how you harvest it, as dill’s flowers, leaves, and seeds can all be used for different seasonings or recipes. Dill’s flowers, for example, can help preserve homemade dill pickles or be used to garnish salads. While dill is relatively easy to grow, there are certain things you need to know when it comes to harvesting the herb. Ahead, we talked to a food and farming expert about the best way to harvest this popular plant.

Tools You'll Need

• Scissors
• Paper towels
• Paper bag
  

Instructions

1. Take clean scissors and snip off leaves where the leaf stem and main stem meet. "Be careful not to damage the rest of the plant," says Lindsey Chastain, founder and CEO of The Waddle and Cluck.
2. For seed heads, cut off the entire flower. "Handle the leaves gently to avoid crushing them," says Chastain. "Keep the cut seed heads intact as well."
3. Rinse the harvested dill under cool water if you're planning on eating it right away. "Allow the dill to air dry or gently pat dry with paper towels or a salad spinner if you plan to use the fresh dill immediately," she says.

When to Harvest Dill 

Dill is typically planted and harvested in spring and autumn gardens. When you harvest dill depends largely on what part of the plant you want to harvest.

Harvesting leaves: "For leaves, wait until the dill plant is at least 6 inches tall," says Chastain. Maturity-wise, the plant leaves will be most flavorful when dill looks like it’s about to flower or has just started flowering. "It will have a lot of bright green leaves," says Chastain.

Harvesting seeds: To harvest the dill seeds, you will need to wait until the flower heads turn brown and dry out.

Harvesting flowers: Dill flowers can be harvested after they bloom.

In terms of the right time of day to harvest, choose the morning. "It is best to harvest dill in the morning after the dew dries if the plants are outside," says Chastain. This is because you will get the best flavor from the plant, as the plant won’t have time to dry out during the day. "If your dill is inside, water several hours, or the night, before you want to harvest," she says. This will ensure the plant hasn’t dried out.

How to Save Dill Seeds

Now is the time you can choose to save seeds for next season. "Dry any harvested seed heads by laying them out on a screen or paper bag," says Chastain. Two weeks later, gently rub the dry flower heads to separate the dill seeds. "Store seeds in an airtight container until you are ready to plant them," Chastain says.

How to Store Fresh Dill 

Storing your dill harvest is easy. "If not using your dill right away, keep dill refrigerated in loose plastic bags, wrapped in damp paper towels," says Chastain. If you wish to store your dill harvest for longer, allow it to dry after you have rinsed it fully, then freeze it.  

How to Dry Drill 

Drying this fresh herb is also very simple. "The easiest method for drying dill is to wash it and let it dry on a rack or towel," says Chastain. It can take several days for the dill to fully dry on its own, though, so you might want to consider speeding the process up by using a dehydrator, though this might change the texture of your dried dill. "I usually dehydrate my dill leaves only if I'm planning to ground it up for dill spice," Chastain says.