Category: Wine Cellars

Dill Seed Vs. Dill Weed

Common dill (Anethum graveolens) has naturalized in North America after its introduction from the native southwestern Asia. Dill is easy to grow, giving textural visual interest to the garden with its 3- to 4-ft tall, feathery foliage and 6-inch broad umbrels of bright yellow blossoms. Dill foliage is food for black swallowtail caterpillars, so it is recommended as a host plant from blossom gardens. However, dill really shines from the kitchen. The sweetly pungent taste is concentrated in the leaves and the seeds, making dill a popular herb for a vast assortment of culinary uses. Dill weed is simply another name for dill foliage.

Growing

Dill prefers full sun in well-drained soil. It grows easily from seed from U. S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 10. Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep in loose soil in the first spring. Make successive sowings every two to three weeks for a continuous supply. Successive sowings permit you to allow the ancient plants mature so it’s possible to use the seeds when cucumbers are all set to pickle. Later plantings give you a source of fresh dill weed through the entire year. In desert regions, plant dill in late summer and early fall to avoid extreme heat. Water newly planted dill to aid germination, and irrigate sometimes throughout the entire year to maintain the dirt from completely drying out. As seedlings grow, thin them to stand about 18 inches apart. An easy method to grow dill is to let it reseed directly in the garden.

Harvesting

Young dill plants which you lean from the garden are ideal to thicken for tender, fresh dill weed. Although you can trim dill foliage at any opportunity to utilize new, the leaves have the best flavor before the umbrels blossom. Trimmed dill continues to grow new leaves until the plant flowers, so it is possible to replicate harvest the foliage. Harvest dill seeds from mature plants after the blossoms plant seeds. The blossom umbrels become clusters of seeds that pertain to the plant until they are fully mature. Snip off the seed heads once the seeds are brown and dry before the seeds scatter. Hold a tote or big bowl under the heads and snip — allow the seed heads fall into the container.

Maintaining

Wash fresh dill weed and wash it dry, chop it, then freeze it in tiny containers or suspend it flat on a baking sheet to move to small containers. To dry dill weed, loosely tie together a few branches at the base with rope or a rubber band and hang on the bundles upside-down in an airy place out of sunlight. Bruising the branches may cause stains of decay or mold, so handle the dill gently. You might also use an electric dehydrator to dry dill weed quickly. A dehydrator assists the dried leaves retain the bright green colour of fresh dill. Shake the dry dill seeds from the stalks into a bowl, sorting out the stalks for disposal. Store dried dill weed and dill seeds in airtight containers in the cabinet.

Uses

Is dill an herb or spice? It’s both. Herbs are leaves, so dill weed is an herb. Legendary as a flavoring for fish, dill weed is excellent in soups and stews, dips and sauces, also to taste vegetables, rice and omelets. Dill seeds are regarded as a spice because they are parts of the plant which are leaves. Use whole or ground seeds to taste dill pickles and to make flavored vinegar, and add them to sauerkraut, breads and rolls, cakes and cole slaw. Dill seeds include zip to roasted root veggies, and they include sweet pungency to curry powder. Dill weed also produces a lovely foliage replacement for ferns in flower arrangements. It adds odor as well as colour, and lasts several days in a vase of water.

See related

What Plants Should Not Be Planted Next to Watermelons?

Since they grow so large, watermelons need more time on the vine than many other food items in your garden, frequently 100 days. This duration, as well as the large amount of ground space required by watermelon vines, implies you should take special care to plant the watermelons in just the perfect spot to prevent infection, pests and unfavorable changes in the fruit from the beginning. There are a couple of plants which should remain in a different area of your lawn, away from your watermelons.

Toxic Plants

While many plants are poisonous to animals and humans, just a few are toxic to other plants, such as watermelons. The black walnut tree (Juglans nigra), for example, creates juglone in its nuts, branches and leaves. This material leaches into the ground and injuries most neighboring plants. The shagbark hickory tree (Carya ovata) also creates juglone but also in smaller amounts than the black walnut. Watermelon plants bear juglone better than vegetables such as cabbage and potatoes, however, the toxin can still negatively influence the seeds’ germination and stunt the vines’ growth.

Plants Pests Like

Watermelons are susceptible to attack by numerous types of insects, such as the aphids and the cucumber beetle. Aphids often like to start out their lives on plants such as mustard greens or flowering perennials such as roses, so keep these plants from watermelon; the aphids can readily move their home over to the watermelon leaves, causing leaf curl and death. Aphids also enjoy the greens of strawberries, beans and and beets, so plant watermelon from those. In addition, keep cucumber, squash and zucchini in a different part of the garden. These vegetables have a tendency to draw the cucumber beetle, which loves to migrate on to your watermelon plants.

Cross-Pollinators

Bees travel from blossom to blossom without paying attention to that variety they only came from. This means they frequently transfer pollen from one type of plant to the other. This is not typically a huge problem with watermelons, because watermelons do not cross-pollinate with many plants, such as closely related ones such as cantaloupe. Different types of watermelon, however, will cross-pollinate with each other. If you’re growing more than one type of watermelon, such as seedless ones beside the typical seeded ones, then be prepared for the fruit to be combined between the two kinds of vines as the mammals spread pollen involving the plant sorts. Additionally, watermelon cross-pollinates with the citron melon, which alters the flavor and texture of the watermelon. Keep various kinds of honey as well as the citron melon as independent as possible on your lawn to help block cross-pollination.

Spacing

A plant which shouldn’t be planted next to a watermelon vine is, well, the other watermelon vine. At least they should not be placed directly next to each other. Watermelon vines have a tendency to distribute 3 to 4 feet in all directions, so that they should be planted around 6 to 10 feet apart to provide the vines plenty of space to develop. Overlapping vines can lead to yellow and curling leaves as some get concealed in the sun’s light from leaves out of the other plant. Maintain the plants near enough to allow for cross-pollination without having them so close that they compete for moisture, nutrients and space.

See related

What Vegetables to Plant in the Spring, Summer & Fall

Vegetables straight from the garden, pots on your patio, or poles in your balcony are bursting with flavor. You can not get any fresher than fresh-picked. Vegetables have preferred growing conditions and while it is likely to develop any vegetable in any time — believe greenhouses — most do better in certain times of year.

Spring

It is time to plant cool-season vegetables at the spring. These include peas, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuces, spinach, chard, kale and other leafy greens. They also incorporate vegetables that require quite a long time from seed to harvest, such as cabbage. Spring is traditionally believed from March through June. However, it starts as early as January and ends in March in warm winter or hot summer areas. Peas and greens perform much better planted from seed directly in the garden. Cruciferous vegetables can be planted from seed or from transplants. Plant onions at the spring if you want bulb onions. Perennial vegetables such as asparagus and artichokes must be planted in the spring. Don’t harvest the asparagus the very first year.

Summer

When the air temperature remains above 60 degrees Fahrenheit and also attains highs in the 70s and above, then it is time to plant warm-season vegetables. Cooler temperatures mean that the seeds won’t germinate fast and may rot instead. Root development is slower in cooler temperatures as well. Summer arrives as early as April or as late as July depending on your geographical area. The temperature is much more important than the calendar. In hot inland areas, not much can be implanted when daytime temperatures are often over 90 levels. The edible part of the summer vegetable is that the fruit and contains tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, corn, beans, squash, pumpkin and eggplant.

Fall

Root vegetables such as beets, carrots, turnips and rutabagas do well planted from seed in the autumn. Beet seeds are in fact a package of seeds at a husk. Wash the husks in water for 24 hours and then plant. Up to six seedlings will sprout from each husk and should be thinned. Planting onion seeds in the autumn ends in green onions across the autumn and winter and into spring. Fall traditionally is from September to the end of November.

Winter

In mild-winter places in which the temperature doesn’t fall below freezing, plant cool-season vegetables out and warm-season vegetable seeds in it. Begin the warm-season vegetables about six to eight weeks before you expect the temperatures to warm up enough to transplant the seedlings. In places where mild frosts do happen, cover the cool-season vegetables using glass jars, plant them in a cool framework or cover them with a clear plastic arch or row cover.

See related

Vegetable Plants You can begin in a Greenhouse

Any number of vegetables, from tomatoes to Swiss chard can be started in a greenhouse from seeds or young plants. For gardeners who are perennially impatient to start spring planting, this really is a fantastic way to occupy itchy fingers ready to work the soil. The most important components to consider include using a sterile soil medium and establishing a starting program, beginning with frost-tolerant vegetables then moving on to cool weather and warm weather plants in succession.

Growing Media

It is universally suggested that greenhouse plants be cultivated in sterile soil or growing media to avoid an assortment of potential diseases. There are lots of commercial soil options available to the hobby greenhouse gardener. If you choose to start plants in native soil, New Mexico State University recommends sterilizing it before planting by fumigation or steam. Native soil culture also needs to be amended with materials such as vegetable compost, treated manure and perlite to promote optimal drainage.

Frost-Tolerant Crops

Start frost-tolerant crops initially, in accordance with the neighborhood climate. In most areas of the country these can be started in January then hardened off and moved into the backyard in February or early March. Commonly recommended frost-tolerant vegetables comprise beets, Brussels sprouts, spinach, parsley, kale, carrots and collard greens. Keep in mindthat these vegetables are frost-tolerant but aren’t tolerant of deep, extended freezes in many cases.

Cool Weather Crops

Cool weather vegetables are available in the greenhouse in February in most areas of the nation. These favor average ambient growing temperatures of 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Harden then set these plants in the backyard beginning in late February or March. Favorite cool weather plants include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, turnips, radish and mustard greens. These vegetables may endure short periods of temperatures between 28 and 32 degrees once planted, just experiencing spotty leaf harm.

Warm Weather Crops

Warm weather plants can be started in the greenhouse beginning in March in most areas of the nation. Those residing in the coldest regions might prefer to wait until early April. These vegetables aren’t tolerant of frost or freezing temperatures and should just be put out after the danger of these has passed. They prefer average ambient growing temperatures between 70 and 85 levels. These include favorites such as tomatoes, vining beans, cucumbers, legumes, squash, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, peas, corn and melons.

See related