Did you know it was the Germans who invented the dill pickle recipe?

It’s true the seeds of this herb are mainly used as a pickling spice but this is one very useable plant.

The ferny frond-like leaves are what are known as dillweed and can be used fresh or dried.

I find dillweed is easiest to use when frozen on the stem. Just store it in your freezer and snip off what you need when you need it.

The seeds also have a different taste and smell, according to maturity. You can harvest the seeds as soon as they turn brown (two to three weeks after flowering) but handle them delicately as most seeds that fall on the ground will take root.

Essential oils are made from both the plant and from the seeds or a mixture of both so there is a wide range of odor and flavor.

The large yellow umbels (flower heads) dry really well for dried flower arrangements; just cut with long stems and hang upside down in a dark dry place. I do mine in the basement.

To use the seeds for a spice they should be dried the same way except for the addition of newspaper laid underneath to catch falling seeds. Most of the seeds will fall out when they dry without any help from you, the rest you can shake or pull off by hand.

Pickle making actually came about as a much later use for the seeds.

Dilla is an Old Norse word meaning “to lull” and it is from this word that dill is derived.

Do you remember when colicky babies were treated with gripe water? Gripe water is really dill water and it doesn’t just settle babies with digestive discomfort it will bring relief to all ages and sizes. It was and is also used to induce sleep as well as to stimulate milk production in nursing mothers. Modern experiments have confirmed and validated this use, as do ancient writings from the ´Egyptians over 5,000 years ago.

Dill is native to the Mediterranean, Asia and southern Russia and because it is so easily pleased it has naturalized throughout Europe and North America.

It is also a very pretty looking herb (larger version of fennel) and I grow it in my flower, vegetable and herb gardens.

It had a prominent place in the ancient gardens of both Athens and Rome where the fragrant one-metre-tall plants were made into wreaths and garlands, which adorned both banquet halls and heroes.

Wait until spring to give planting dill a try, once all danger of frost has passed. Plant them shallowly in full sun in a well-drained spot where you want to grow dill forever because it is a self-sower.

The only real care you need to expend is to weed occasionally. Seeds don’t always form the first year of the plant’s existence so don’t despair if yours don’t, they will.

Tip: Dill is a helpful companion plant to cabbage, lettuce and onions enhancing their growth and looks lovely gracing the center of any of these low growing vegetables.

Superstition: If you hang dillweed over your door it is said no one envious or ill-disposed toward you can enter.

Questions or comments? Contact Pam Tempelmayer at whalebonestudio@embarqmail.com.