Dill gives you two harvests from one plant: the feathery green fronds for cooking, and the seed heads for pickling and spice. The fronds are best picked young, before the plant flowers, and the seeds are best picked when the heads turn brown and dry. Dill is a fast, cool-season annual — ready in as little as 40 to 50 days — so the skill is picking steadily and sowing little and often, because each plant only gives good leaves for a few weeks.
Dill takes 40–50 days to mature, according to the Garden Grove crop data. It is a hardy herb in the Apiaceae family with moderate water needs. For the full growing picture, see our growing guide for dill, and use the Harvest Date Calculator to work out your picking window from your sowing date. Browse the full guides hub and the tools hub for more harvest timing advice, and check your local extension service for dates suited to your climate.
Dill at a glance
| Growing factor | What dill needs |
|---|---|
| Days to maturity | 40–50 |
| Category | herb |
| Family | Apiaceae |
| Cold tolerance | hardy |
| Water needs | moderate |
Signs dill is ready to pick
Dill fronds are ready to pick when the plant is about eight to twelve inches tall and has plenty of soft, feathery, bright-green foliage. The fronds should be fine and delicate, with no yellowing at the base and no sign of the thick central stem that signals flowering is coming. Young fronds are the most tender and aromatic; older fronds become coarse and less flavourful.
For the seed harvest, watch the flower heads. The tiny yellow flowers fade and the developing seeds swell, then turn from green to tan and finally to brown. When the seed heads are brown and dry and the seeds come away easily when you rub them, they are ready to pick. If you wait too long, the seeds shatter and fall to the ground — which is fine if you want self-sown dill next year, but not if you want to collect them.
How to pick dill
Cut dill fronds with clean scissors, snipping the feathery stems near the base of the plant. Take the outer fronds first and leave the central growing point alone so the plant can keep producing. Harvest in the morning after the dew has dried, when the fronds are crisp and aromatic. Take only what you need at each picking — dill wilts quickly once cut, so pick it just before you use it.
For seed heads, cut the whole head with several inches of stem once the seeds are brown, and carry it carefully to a paper bag — seeds shatter easily. Hold the head upside down in the bag and shake or rub gently to release the seeds. If you are growing dill for pickling, you can also cut the green seed heads, before they turn brown, and use them whole in pickle jars. For the full growing picture, see our growing guide for dill.
The best time of day to harvest
Harvest dill in the morning, after the dew has dried but before the sun gets hot. That is when the leaves are dry, crisp and most aromatic, because the essential oils are at their most concentrated after a cool night. Leaves picked in the afternoon heat are often limp and less flavourful, and wet leaves picked while the dew is still on them dry slowly and can go mouldy in storage.
Choose a dry day for harvesting if you can, and avoid picking after rain, when the foliage is wet and heavy. If you must pick on a damp day, spread the cuttings out in a single layer in a ventilated spot for an hour before you bundle or bag them. And get the harvest out of the sun straight away — a basket of cut herbs left in the sun for an hour will wilt and lose much of its aroma. Morning picking is a small habit that makes a real difference to flavour and keeping quality.
How often to pick
Dill is a pick-little-and-often crop, and regular picking is part of good plant care, not just a way to get a harvest. Once the plant is established, you can take a small picking every week or two through the growing season, always leaving enough growth for the plant to recover. Each cut encourages the plant to branch and push out fresh, tender growth, so a plant that is picked regularly stays bushy and productive far longer than one that is left alone.
Do not wait for a single big harvest unless the plant is one you cut whole for drying — for most herbs, steady, small pickings give you better flavour and a healthier plant. Take a few sprigs from several plants rather than a large handful from one, and always leave at least two-thirds of the plant intact. If you go away for a few weeks, ask someone to pick the herbs, or cut the plant back before you leave so it regrows while you are gone.
What happens if dill is left too long
Dill left too long bolts and the fronds become sparse, coarse and bitter as the plant pours its energy into a tall flower stalk and then into seed. Once the yellow flowers open, there are very few good fronds left to pick, and the plant will die after setting seed — dill is an annual, and its life ends with the seed harvest.
A bolted dill plant is not wasted, though. The flowers attract hoverflies and other beneficial insects, and the seed heads are a harvest in their own right — cut them for pickling while green, or let them ripen to brown for dried seed. If you want fronds rather than seed, sow little and often, pick young fronds steadily, and do not let every plant run to flower.
How to store dill
Fresh dill fronds keep for about a week in the fridge, stood in a jar of water and loosely covered, or wrapped in a damp tea towel inside a bag. Dill wilts fast, so do not wash it until you are ready to use it. For longer keeping, freezing is far better than drying — chopped dill frozen in ice-cube trays with water or oil keeps its flavour for months and is perfect for fish, potatoes and soups.
Dill seed keeps for a year or more if stored dry. After rubbing the seeds out of the heads, spread them on a tray for a few days to make sure they are fully dry, then store them in a sealed jar in a dark cupboard. Label the jar — dill seed and fennel seed look alike. Dried dill leaf, by contrast, loses most of its flavour, so freeze the fronds and dry only the seed.
Succession and continuous harvest tips
Dill is a fast annual, so succession sowing is the key to a continuous supply. Sow a short row every two to three weeks from spring through early summer, and again in late summer for an autumn harvest. Dill is hardy with moderate water needs and tolerates cool weather, but it bolts quickly in heat, so summer sowings do best in a spot with afternoon shade.
Let one or two plants go to seed each season and dill will self-sow freely — you will find seedlings popping up in the same bed and in nearby paths next year. Thin seedlings early so the remaining plants have room to grow, and keep the soil evenly moist, because dry soil speeds up bolting. Because dill grows tall and feathery, sow it where it will not shade smaller neighbours.
If you are also growing other herbs and vegetables, our guides to harvesting chives and harvesting bay leaves follow the same picking principles, and check your local extension service for advice suited to your area.
Frequently asked questions
When is dill ready to harvest?
Fronds are ready when plants are eight to twelve inches tall with soft, feathery foliage, typically 40–50 days from sowing. Seed heads are ready when they turn brown and dry.
How do I pick dill fronds?
Snip the outer fronds near the base with scissors, leave the centre growing point alone, and pick in the morning after the dew has dried.
Should I dry or freeze dill?
Freeze the fronds — dried dill leaf loses most of its flavour. Dry only the seed, which keeps for a year or more in a sealed jar.
Can I use dill seed heads for pickling?
Yes. Cut green seed heads and use them whole in pickle jars, or let the heads ripen to brown and collect the dry seed.
Will dill come back next year?
It self-sows readily if you let a plant or two set seed. Seedlings will appear in the same bed and nearby in spring.