telow, I don't know about everyone else, but I have dill come up volunteer in my garden every year. Once you get your first stand it will likely come up every year after that if you allow some of the heads to mature and the seed to fall on the ground. I usually pick them and scatter them around the garden to ensure it comes up all over. It is easy to recognize when it comes up, so once you are accustomed to it then you can avoid pulling it as weed.

I know that does not help you with your question, but that is how it works in my garden. I suspect that if you pick a spot where you want to grow dill and plant it now, then leave it alone, it will come up when it gets warm enough. Plant your cukes at the regular time and eat them until the dill is ready for pickling. The cukes will be producing before the dill. Start them a couple of weeks later than normal and they should start to produce at about the same time as the dill.

Please, other folks jump in if this doesn't sound right to you. This is from my experience and how I would go about it. I plant a lot of cucumbers to sell, and allow lots of volunteer dill to grow in my garden, which I also sell. If we make pickles, we do so when the dill is ready since we already have lots of cucumbers producing. And the dill is ready...well when it is ready, since it is volunteer.

One other thing, if I were planting dill in a garden for the first time, I would plant it very heavy, then thin it once it is up. Scatter the seed hither and yon and in following years it will everywhere. Leave the ones that are where you want them to be and weed all the others.

Hey, welcome ScottOkie! I've not been posting much here lately although a member for a coupla years. Glad you jumped on board! Now I've got a couple of questions for you....

I've started dill the last several years and had NO luck with it. I've sown it heavy...and bought plants. Planted it in the garden...or in a special pot that got lots of attention. No luck whatsover. SO...what kind of soil is yours in? Full or some shade? Watered frequently or just sometimes? I've had friends who say the same thing as you about it being prolic...but I just can't seem to get the right combo of things going.

And where do you sell your cukes? Just a general vacinty of Oklahoma is all I'm asking. Inquiring minds want to know!!! ha!

Paula

p-mac, The portion of my garden where the dill is heaviest is in full sun. I have a sandy loam, but it is a bit more on the sandy side. A friend of mine has also tried to plant dill and has had no luck in his garden. It is apparently somewhat finicky about coming up. That is why I recommended planting heavy. The best I can recommend is to find someone who has a lot of extra dill each year and get ten or more heads from them and sprinkle the seed all over your garden. Plant your garden as usual, but when weeding or hoeing keep a sharp eye out for the ferny looking dill sprouts. You might even want to mark them when you find them so you will be less likely to weed them later.

I usually have lots of dill come up in the rows of what ever I have planted in the portion of the garden I spread seed. They take advantage of the watering and fertilizer the crops in the row are getting. Something that you might try is to sprinkle dill seed in every row of crop you plant. The more the better.

I sell in the south central/southeastern portion of Oklahoma.

Because it is tap rooted, Dill really dislikes transplanting, so if you purchase plants, be very careful not to disturb the roots at all. Take it out of the pot and gently settle it into the ground or in potting mix if you intend to grow it in a container. It should be a large, deep container because of its taproot. Take care not to touch the roots or loosen them, like we tend to do with other transplants.

That's why it is best to do as Scott suggests. Direct sow the seeds in situ, whether it be the ground or a pot, and let the plants go to seed for plants the following year. If you're growing it in a pot, it would probably be best to harvest the seeds to start again next year.

It is also suggested that successive sowings of Dill will keep the harvest coming along. Dill goes to seed easily and quickly, so for foliage, planting every 2 weeks or so will extend it's growing season.

Dill likes good soil, too. I usually top dress mine early to mid-season with some chicken manure.

I'm attaching an article about growing Dill and it also goes into some length about when and how to harvest it.

Susan

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing and Harvesting Dill