Dill is one of those quintessential Swedish summer flavors. It’s the favoruite herb for new potatoes, one of the most popular seasonings for chips and it’s what give our crayfish that uniquely Swedish taste. That said, growing dill is a must if you have a herb- and vegetable garden in Sweden. I winter sow my dill for a super early harvest and in this post I’ll share how I do it. I promise that it’s easy peasy!
What is winter sowing and why should I do it?
But first, what is winter sowing and why should I do it? Winter sowing is simply sowing your seeds during winter. The seeds lie dormant until it’s time to sprout. This saves you time during the busy gardening season as a lot of crops are already sown. It will also give you an earlier harvest since seeds already have sprouted and grown a bit at the point where you would normally sow them. I love it since it mean I can sow my dill, carrots, sallat and spinach during winter and focus on other crops during spring.
How to winter sow dill
It’s super easy to winter sow dill. All you need is a good winter day, a bag of dill and a few handfuls of thawed soil. I usually sow my dill sometime in January or February when it happens to be a snow free day. Here’s how to winter sow dill:
1. Choose a snow free day or brush away as much snow as possible from your veggie bed.
2. Spread your dill seeds in straight lines. Keep the lines about 10 centimeters apart.
3. Cover your seeds with thawed soil.
4. Wait for spring to arrive and seeds to sprout.
Preserving dill
With an early harvest of dill comes the need to preserve it for later use. My last frost date is 10th of May and I usually harvest all dill by the end of May. I freeze and dehydrate it to use in differen recipes. At the same time I sow some new dill to be harvested in August, just in time for our annual crayfish party.
