There are a few best practices around when to harvest dill that you can follow in order to come away with the highest quality dill leaves, dill flowers, and dill seeds. What’s more, you’ll also learn how to keep your plants producing for as long as possible. Several factors influence the ideal timing for when to harvest dill. Some of these include the age and size of your dill plants and which parts of the plant you intend to use. Even the weather and time of year you harvest can affect the quality and quantity of your dill harvest. In this article you’ll get all the information you need for timing when to harvest dill from your garden.

The benefits of growing dill

When you grow dill weed for yourself, you have nearly limitless access to a cut-and-come-again dill harvest for use in salads, soups, dressings, dips, and other dishes. But there are some other great benefits associated with this culinary herb, including:

• Attracting beneficial insects—Dill naturally attracts much-needed pollinators as well as ladybugs, lacewings, and other good guys. These beneficial bugs, in turn, will help to keep the numbers of aphids and other pests in check.
• Boosting butterflies—Dill is a great nectar source in butterfly gardens. It’s also a host plant for black swallowtail butterflies which lay their eggs on dill. The resulting caterpillars will chow down on dill leaves until it’s time to transform into butterflies. So if you see caterpillars on your dill plants, don’t panic! There will be more than enough to share.
• Treating your chickens—Got chickens? As long as your plants have not had any exposure to pesticides, you can feed your flock finely chopped dill leaves as a healthy treat.

The many uses of dill—both fresh and preserved

Both fresh dill and dried dill seeds have long had a place in pickling everything from cucumbers and cabbage to green beans, red onions, and beets. Fresh dill leaves and flowers also look—and taste—lovely when mixed into dill vinaigrette dressings and tossed with just-picked lettuce, chives, tomatoes, and other garden goodies. Dill’s uniquely bright flavor also works well with pastas and potatoes.

Why knowing when to harvest dill matters

Properly timing when to harvest dill matters because it can affect the quality of the product you bring into your kitchen. In other words? If you get the timing for when to harvest dill right, you’ll come away with unparalleled dill flavor and aroma. But, if you harvest too soon or cut too much at one time, this can really set your plants back and delay subsequent harvests.

When to harvest dill for the leaves

So, what about when to harvest dill if you specifically want fresh dill leaves? In part, that depends on the size and age of your plants. New plants should be at least six inches tall before you begin harvesting dill fronds, and cutting them in the morning or evening is best. 

Dill’s characteristically feathery foliage will be at peak flavor before your plants begin to flower. Once flowering starts—and especially once dill seeds form and ultimately mature—new leaf production stops.

Pro-tip: So that you’ll have multiple waves of new plants from which to harvest fresh leaves, you can direct sow dill seeds every couple of weeks. One great variety to try is Fernleaf dill which doesn’t bolt as quickly as other types.

Once you sow seeds, make sure to give seedlings exactly what they need. Dill thrives in full sun—that means it should get at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. It also performs best in rich, well-draining soil. If yours is iffy, amend with compost or other organic matter as needed. You can also incorporate a slow release organic vegetable fertilizer at planting time.

When to harvest dill flowers

As for when to harvest dill flowers for use in pickling recipes or cut flower arrangements, flower stalks will be at their perkiest in the morning or evening hours. In terms of the volatile compounds which give them their flavor and scent, herbs like dill are usually most potent in the morning.

When to harvest dill seeds

Mid-summer heat is an important factor for triggering flowering, and flowering, in turn, is essential if you want to be able to harvest dill seeds. As such, when you started your dill plants and how far along you are in the growing season will dictate when your seeds set. (Pro-tip: varieties like Bouquet dill develop flowers and seeds more quickly than other dill types.) You should allow flowers to bloom and die back before you harvest seed heads.

How to pick dill leaves

Now you know when to harvest dill, but what’s the best way to do it? First, avoid cutting more than one-third of the plant at a time. This is because overly aggressive harvesting can set back new growth. Use scissors or garden snips to separate individual leaves from the plant’s main stem but leave that main stem intact. For best results, the dill leaves you’re cutting should be dry not wet from rain, irrigation water, or dew.

How to harvest the flowers and seeds

If you’re cutting flowers or greenery for use in bouquets, snip stems so that they’re long enough for your vases. Choose young flowers that are just about to open or are newly opened.

If you’re harvesting flowers to include in dill pickles or other recipes, you can separate each flower head from its stalk and use fresh. For dried flowers and for dill seeds, allow flowers to die back on your dill plants and then cut and bundle the stems for further drying.

Tips for using fresh dill

Cut only as much fresh dill as you’ll need at one time. If you do have some leftover, here’s how to keep it for:

• A few days—Gather stems like a bouquet and place them in a jar with a couple of inches of water. To preserve humidity, loosely cover the top of your dill with a plastic bag. Place in a cool spot out of direct sunlight.
• About a week—Wrap your fresh dill in a damp paper towel and place this in an airtight container in your refrigerator.
• Several weeks—Finely chop your fresh dill, mix with water or oil to make a paste, and then freeze in ice cube trays. Once frozen, place dill cubes in a freezer-safe baggie and store in the freezer.

How to dry and preserve dill leaves and seeds

• Leaves—You can use a food dehydrator or even your oven to dry dill leaves. Make sure your herbs don’t overlap one another when you place them on individual dehydrator trays. For oven-drying, give them their space on large parchment paper-covered cookie sheets. Bake or dehydrate on the lowest setting until herbs are crumbly and dry.
• Seeds—Hang small bundles of dill stems upside-down inside of a clean paper bag and then hang the bag in a warm-but-dry environment for about a month. Dried seeds that come loose will fall to the bottom of the bag. Furthermore, you can shake the bag to help separate any remaining seeds from the dried stems.

To help preserve its quality, store your dried dill harvest in opaque, airtight containers. Keep these in a cool, dark place.

A culinary dill-ight!

As long as you understand enough about the plant itself and how you intend to use it, you’ll always know just when to harvest dill. Want fresh leaves? Wait until new plants are at least six inches tall before cutting. (Also, for successive crops of fresh dill, periodically sow seeds for new plants during spring and late summer.) Prefer to harvest fresh flowers? Warm weather brings these on, and harvesting in the morning or evening is recommended. Interested in dried seeds? Wait until dill flowers begin to die back before harvesting and then bundle and hang seed-laden stems to dry for long-term storage.

For more information on harvesting herbs, be sure to read these articles:

• Harvesting basil: Tips to maximize flavor and yield
• A guide to harvesting coriander
• Picking rosemary: Pro tips for lots of leaves
• When and how to harvest chives