Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Dill

Back to gardening!


Dill has slender stems, and alternate, finely divided, softly delicate leaves which can range from 10-20cm long.  The flowers are white to yellow, in small umbels diameter, about 2 to 9cm.  Dill is originated from Eastern Europe and are now widespread throughout the Mediterranean and West Asia. The fern-like leaves are aromatic and are used to flavour many food such as soups, pickles, dips and other culinary uses.

Dill needs full sun to grow with rich well-drained soil.  This is a short-lived perennial herb. Now that explains why my dill plant is slowly drying and wilting away.  I bought this plant from Sg. Buloh for RM5.00.  I have never seen this being sold anywhere else. 

Surprisingly, this plant is a member of the parsley family!  Dills are grown from seeds. I have yet to try this! It has some medicinal value too. The seeds are used to control flatulence by brewing it as a tea and by chewing a few seeds will help to freshen the breath! 



This photo was taken in August.


This photo was taken in September. In just a month the plant has grown taller with lovely small yellow flowers


A close-up picture of the leaves


Another photo of the leaves


Look at the lovely umbel of small yellow flowers


Close-up photo of the flowers


The dried seeds. Photo taken a few days ago.


Close up photo of the dried seeds. They are very small. 



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This is for you to drool........




This photo was taken last week at my sister's garden. She planted this vine about less than 2 years ago, and look at the little grapes, are you drooling already??  I sure did! This is the second time that the plant is fruiting and it is only one cluster of grapes, bigger bunch than the first time.  I have not tasted it yet! Keeping my fingers crossed that I will have the chance to try this when it ripens, maybe no chance at all, may have to wait for the next batch, hopefully more bunches next time round!

13 comments:

  1. The photos look very pretty even without backdrops, especially the flowers and seeds. Can you grow dill with seeds? Can I have some dill seeds to add to my herb collection?

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  2. Your sister's bunch of grapes is bigger than mine..but after the onslaught of rain, I was left with only 5 grapes which turned pink n later darker red but I was not abt to let it turn to dark purple in case nature got to it first so I plucked them all..still a bit sourish! I planted my dill using the ones I bought from the supermarket..but they dont last and eventually dies off

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  3. Out of curiousity, how do you use dill in cooking? I feel like growing one but I don't know how to use it:). I am not a good cook.

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  4. no wonder you asked me to visit your blog! your dill is flourishing and the flowers so pretty..can semai the seeds for more dill? hahaa..hmmm i'm also waiting for more bunches of grapes to share with our family..still hoping for more bunches!! keep on keeping yr fingers cross!!

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  5. Now i know how a dill plant look like! ;-)
    The grapes look so tempting!

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  6. The dill pictures are lovely. And the grapes, wow! I am more familiar with rosemary, so I'd also like to know how to use dill in our dishes.

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  7. Hi! Just to let you know that I bought dill seeds already. Now need to know how to use it. :)

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  8. Ha ha Kitchen Flavour, the grapes ~ you must be excited to see it on the vine! I once saw a bunch of purple grapes hanging on my neighbours grape vine and got truly excited. Then....my neighbour told me that the grapes are fake. She hung it there as the vine has never produce any fruits!

    On the dill, you can propagate dill from stem cutting. I cut the stem of my dried-up dill (I was back in hometown for 5 days and no one water my plants) and then place it into the soil. Shoots started to grow from the stem. That was a great relief to me! I hardly use dill in my cooking. May I ask how do you use your dill?

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  9. My dear friend, you can see my pomegranate with a split bottom now. Judging from the comments generated, I think it is time for you to do a post on how to cook using dill, haha ;-)

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  10. Your Dill looks so good. I can almost smell it. I don't have any good dill right now, I used it all in my pickles. I always love your garden photos.
    Thank you for sharing.

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  11. Hi everyone,
    sorry for late reply! Kind of busy lately!

    Hi One,
    I'm trying to grow the dill from my dried seeds. Nothing sprouted so far, sowed them about 3 days ago, would be happy to send to you some seeds, maybe you would have better luck than me!
    The seeds that you buy, is it for sowing or for cooking?? If it is for cooking, usually dill seeds are used for pickles, I have not used them before, because I cannot find these dill seeds anywhere! If it is meant for cooking, where did you buy it from? I suppose I could use my dried seeds for making pickles, will find out more info on this!

    Hi p3chandan,
    Yes, I bought from the supermarket before, from Cold Storage, but they don't last. I did not buy dill, I bought basil, chives and a few others! I don't buy from them anymore! Go to Sg, Buloh, you get a much bigger plant and more reliable too with about the same price!

    Hi what's baking,
    Yeah, now 'tengah semai'. Will pass around the plants if successful! Talk to your grape plant everyday to encourage more fruits! The reverend at SKE temples says about his blooming lotus, "There is no special fertilizer, only 'nectar', which is known as 'tender loving care'!

    Hi Malay-Kadazan girl,
    Hi Malar,
    Hi JC,
    Hi Autumn Belle,
    Hello ladies, the dill weeds (leaves) can be used in many ways, so far I have tried them in a grilled prawn dish ages ago, and also in a baked chicken dish. Will have to repeat my dishes and post it. I have not tried with the dill seeds yet. The leaves can be used in dips or in salads. I'm thinking of using it for homemade pizza. Will try it out and let you gals know! You can get more yummy recipes from the web! Let me know when any of you tried out any recipes with dill!

    JC, He! He! your neighbour is very funny, she must be very frustated with the grape plant!
    Thanks for the info on propagate the dill from the stem! I will try this out but my stems are all flowering now, and I think the plant is slowing wilting away!

    Autumn Belle,
    Will hop to your blog to see your smiling pomegranate! And yes, looks like I will have to whip up some dill cooking, will share the recipes with all of you!

    Thank you ladies and gentleman, for your interest in the dill! Looks like I have a delicious quest to fulfill!

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  12. Hi Miz Helen,
    Yes, the dill really smells wonderful! Thanks for stopping my garden. It is always a pleasure to see you here.

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  13. Hi! The brand of the dill seeds is Yates. It is available from Ace Hardware. It is for sowing. 3 days is a little too soon for you to know whether yours will germinate or not. I have not sown them yet. Someone told me that she uses dill to steam fish with.

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