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Harvesting & Storing

When to Harvest Dill: Leaves Before Flowers, Seed After

Cut fronds once the plant has four or five leaves, before it bolts. Once flowers open the leaf flavour fades — but then you are growing dill seed.

By Salma 2 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
Dill herb plant
Photo: Kathas_Fotos, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay
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Leaves before it flowers, seed after. They are two different crops from the same plant, and the flower stem is the line between them.

Two crops, one plant

What the plant is giving you, and when
StageCropUse
4–5 leaves to pre-flowerDill leaf (dill weed)Fish, potatoes, salads, soft cheese
Flower heads, greenDill flowerPickling, especially cucumbers
Green seedImmature seedPickling, fresh use
Tan heads, brown flat seedDill seedA distinct spice — stronger, caraway-like

People who think dill “went wrong” when it flowered have usually just arrived at the second crop without meaning to.

Cutting the leaves

  1. Wait for four or five true leaves, about 20 cm tall
  2. Take whole fronds from the outside, cutting near the base
  3. Leave the centre alone — it is the growing point
  4. No more than a third at a time
  5. Morning harvest keeps better
  6. Use it fresh. Dill leaf loses most of its character when dried; freezing works far better

Freeze it, do not dry it

Dried dill weed is a pale shadow of the fresh herb. Chopped fronds frozen in a bag, or in ice cube trays with a little water or oil, keep far more of the flavour.

Dill seed, by contrast, dries and stores perfectly.

Harvesting seed

  1. Let the heads turn tan and the seeds go flat and brown
  2. Cut the whole head with a length of stem
  3. Hang upside down in a paper bag, somewhere dry and airy
  4. Wait one to two weeks — the seed drops into the bag
  5. Store airtight once completely dry
  6. Keep some for sowing. Dill self-seeds readily and saved seed germinates well

Living with the bolt

Dill is an annual that flowers on heat and day length, and transplanting or drying out accelerates it. What helps:

  • Sow direct. Root disturbance triggers bolting
  • Keep the soil consistently moist
  • Afternoon shade in summer
  • Slow-bolt varieties — Fernleaf, Dukat
  • A short row every two to three weeks

And let one or two plants flower deliberately. The umbels attract hoverflies and parasitic wasps, both of which eat aphids, so a flowering dill is doing useful work even when it has stopped producing leaves.

Common questions

When should you harvest dill leaves?

Once the plant has four or five true leaves and is around 20 cm tall, which is usually six to eight weeks from sowing, and before the flower stem rises. Cut whole fronds from the outside of the plant with scissors, taking no more than a third at once, and leave the central growing point alone. Leaf flavour is strongest just before flowering, and it fades noticeably once the flowers open.

Can you still use dill after it flowers?

The leaves become sparse and much milder, so most people stop using them, but the plant is not wasted — it has simply moved on to producing the other crop. The flower heads themselves are used fresh in pickling, and the seed that follows is dill seed, which is a distinct spice with a stronger, more caraway-like flavour than the leaf. Letting a few plants flower also feeds hoverflies and parasitic wasps, which are useful aphid predators.

How do you harvest dill seed?

Let the flower heads turn from green to tan and the seeds go flat and brown, then cut the whole head with a length of stem and hang it upside down inside a paper bag somewhere dry and airy. The seed drops into the bag as it finishes drying, usually over one to two weeks. Store it in an airtight jar once it is completely dry, and keep some back for sowing — dill self-seeds readily and saved seed germinates well.

How do you stop dill from bolting?

You mostly cannot, and it is better to plan around it. Dill is a short-lived annual that flowers in response to heat and lengthening days, and it bolts especially fast when transplanted or when the roots dry out. Sowing direct rather than transplanting, keeping the soil consistently moist, providing some afternoon shade in summer, and choosing slow-bolt varieties such as Fernleaf all buy time. Sowing a short row every two to three weeks is what actually gives continuous leaf.

Does cutting dill make it grow back?

Yes, as long as you cut fronds from the outside and leave the centre intact — new growth comes from the central growing point, so removing it ends the plant. Taking a third at a time keeps a plant productive for several weeks. What cutting will not do is prevent bolting for long, so treat regular harvesting as a way to use the plant well rather than a way to extend its life indefinitely.

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