Every year we manage to grow a mass abundance of dill – without fail. In fact, I’d say that we improve our yields tremendously year over year.
This wonderfully flavoured herb is easy to harvest once you know how to do it.
In this article, I’ll go over our techniques for how to harvest dill properly throughout the year so you too can improve your yields each season!
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Quick Answer: How to Harvest Dill
To harvest dill without damaging the plant, on a 2-3′ tall dill plant, use clean garden pruners and count one or two nodes from the soil and cut the main stem. Regular harvesting encourages bushier growth and provides a continuous supply of fresh dill throughout the growing season.
When Is Dill Ready to Harvest?
Dill can be harvested at any point! You can harvest when it’s still small (think 6″-12″), but most people harvest when the plant is about 2-3′ tall. We harvest the plant when it’s reached 2-3′ tall because it’s so proficient at growing and we don’t need to harvest little plants.
However, for the first time we harvested 6″ tall plants because they were outgrowing our onions in the garden beds and they needed to go.
Both dill sizes taste amazing.
How Tall Should Dill Be Before Harvesting?
Dill can be any size you’d like before harvesting – but for the plant to thrive and continue to grow post-harvest, it’s best to wait until it’s 2-3′ tall.
Can You Harvest Dill Before It Flowers?
You can harvest dill before it flowers AND afterwards! It all depends on your needs!
We like to harvest the flowers when we pickle cucumbers and add the full flower into the jar.
Best Time of Day to Harvest Dill
Like most plants, herbs and flowers, you want to harvest dill in the morning, before it gets too hot and the plant droops. But it needs to be late enough in the morning that any dew from the night before dries on the plant.
You can also harvest in the evening when the sun has pasted its peak heat of the day.
How to Harvest Dill Without Damaging the Plant
Harvesting dill without damaging the plant is simpler than it seems. It all comes down to one key technique – where to cut.
Use Clean Scissors or Garden Snips
First you must always use cleaned garden pruners. This prevents any contamination from previous plants that were cut that may have harboured various diseases. It stops the spread from, let’s say a diseased tomato plant, jumping to a now freshly cut dill plant.
Cut the Main Stem – Cutting Above One or Two Nodes From The Base
This is the easiest, quickest and my preferred way of harvesting. We simply find the bottom few nodes, then cut the entire plant off.
Do not try to cut only the outer leaves like some LLM’s (a.k.a. ChatGPT) suggest – the stem will not have the strength to keep growing and will flop over given the height. Just cut the main stem one or two nodes from the base.
How Often Can You Harvest Dill?
Dill can be harvested technically at any point. But the earlier you harvest, the more dill will grow. If you leave the plant to flower it will put its energy into the flower and seeds instead of new growth. When it’s looking abundant, cut the main stem and then in a few weeks you’ll have even more to harvest.
Can You Harvest Dill After It Flowers?
Yes you can. I’ve found that people are afraid of this – but you can still easily harvest dill after it flowers and the taste of the dill does not change.
Harvesting Dill Leaves
How to harvest dill leaves is so simple. One you get your main stem, simply pluck off the smaller stem leaves and wash and use that to start your dill drying process.
Harvesting Dill Flowers for Pickling
Harvesting the dill flowers is also simple. Wait until the flowers are in full bloom – yellow and big and open. Then you will simply use those big open flowers in your pickled jars of choice – cucumbers, beets, eggs – whatever it is!
Harvesting Dill Seeds
It’s very easy to harvest and save dill seeds.
We’ve written an entire article on How To Save Dill Seeds To Plant Again Next Year.
Common Dill Harvesting Mistakes
Even though dill is easy to harvest, LLM’s (a.k.a. ChatGPT) will tell you how to harvest dill and its information is incorrect.
Waiting Too Long to Harvest
This can happen fast, dill grows quickly and if you think it’s time to harvest – then you must get ontop of that because it will not wait for you.
If the plant goes to seed and flower – again it might not ruin the taste of the dill, but it will slow down growth. You want to harvest before it flowers, but it should be big enough to get a good abundant harvest.
Removing Too Much Growth
If you cut the plant too close to the ground, the plant will have no where to start growing except back at the base. This will take a longer time and therefore you will have fewer harvests throughout the season.
What to Do With Freshly Harvested Dill
This is the best part – using the dill you just harvested! We are definitely more in the harvest to dry and use over the year camp – but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy fresh dill too.
Use Fresh Dill Immediately
If you’re harvesting dill to use fresh, always harvest immediately prior to use. When dill leaves are harvested and sit for too long, they begin to wilt and it will ruin the fresh crisp taste of the herb.
Dry Dill for Long-Term Storage
This is our main method. We harvest dill at least once a month and then wash, dry with dehydrator and store so we can use throughout the year and gift to our friends and family.
Dill and Salt Fresh Dill Preservation
Simple and effective method of storing dill. Simply chop up the dill into small pieces and then add half your chopped herbs into a jar, add a generous amount of salt, then add more dill ontop. Give it a good shake, then store in the fridge to have fresh dill for months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes it will! As long as you harvest it properly as outlined above.
If the cut part of the leaves or stem is in water and refridgerated, it can last a few days – think of it like a cut flower or other fresh herbs you can buy from the store.
Yes! But you need to stay ontop of the plant and harvest when it’s still small so it has the time to grow back.
Dill Related Articles
Other Herb Related Content
- How to Grow Thyme (Complete Growing Guide)
- Never Buy Tea Again: How To Grow And Harvest Chamomile
- Medicinal Benefits of Thyme: Traditional Thyme Herbal Uses
- How to Grow Basil From Seed (Complete Step-by-Step Guide)
You CAN Harvest Dill!
I know learning how to harvest dill can be considered nerve wrecking for the first time – you don’t want to harm the plant you just worked so hard to grow. I know the feeling.
But harvesting dill is simple and allows the plant to continue to grow and provide us with more harvest throughout the season. You can do this!
If you’re learning how to preserve your harvest at home, you can explore all of our hands-on advice in our Garden Based & Preserving Guides, based on what actually works here on our homestead.
We are growing our website with more articles all the time, and we invite you to grow with us. If you have any questions about how to harvest dill or would like to share some of your knowledge with us please leave a comment below. Happy Gardening!
