Dill "Smaragd"

* Features of its character: dill is a rather cold-resistant plant - seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of + 2 + 3 ° C.
Dill is a very photophilous plant - it should be placed only in well-lit areas. This is a long-day plant - dill starts flowering when daylight hours exceed 13 hours. With a short light day (10-12 hours), the plants remain at the rosette stage and do not start flowering. With a smaller light day, plants simply die - they do not have enough light for the synthesis of plastic substances.
Usually, dill is used as food when the plants form a small rosette of leaves. Dill plants contain the greatest amount of essential oil and vitamins before the flowering of the central umbrella begins - it is during this period that it is recommended to remove its greens for sale on the market, harvesting for the winter (drying, pickling, freezing) and for use as medicinal raw materials. During this period, the stems are still tender and can also be used as food. In order to regularly have fragrant greens rich in vitamins and essential oil on the table, dill is sown at several times: from May to August.
From the emergence of seedlings to the onset of technical (harvest) ripeness of dill, 40-60 days usually pass.
A feature of dill agricultural technology for greens is that these plants need to be watered and fed frequently. The dose of nitrogen fertilizers applied before sowing is increased.
A feature of dill agricultural technology for seeds is that nitrogen fertilizers are excluded from top dressing carried out after flowering, and after seed formation begins, watering is slightly reduced. These simple tricks contribute to the increased accumulation of essential oil in the seeds.
Seeds used as spices begin to be harvested as soon as some of them (about 10%) turn slightly brown. And mass harvesting of dill seeds (for future sowing) is carried out when they turn brown in the umbrella up to 30-40%.