Gee, wish I had THAT problem! Here, it sets seed heads that replant the following year. I have it sprouting like grass between concrete blocks, and tiny cracks in all areas of my back yard. Dill is a sun lover, but doesn't do well with too much water. Because it has actually 'naturalized' here, I don't expect it will ever dissappear, unless I pull up every single plant before it sets seeds. I grow mammouth dill and thats pretty much what I have everywhere out back now. I used to start seeds in small pots and transplant it, but it never seemed to do as well as the stuff that just sprouts from the previous years crop. Al my outside dill is about an inch or two in height right now, and just looks like shrt blades of grass, all growing in a clump. I will pull up a few 'weak' ones later once they start to show some height.

How tall do yours get before they die? I'm in Z6 and here, today its over 80 degrees, while last Sunday it was 35 degrees. Dill doesn't seem to mind it once mother nature tells it to sprout. That usually happens about the beginning to middle of April around here. Find an cleared, weed free area, sprinkle a bunch of seeds now, and cover it with a half inch of soft soil. Water it and soon you will have a dill flavored 'lawn'. Water only lightly for the first 3-4 weeks, unless it rains. Then wait at least 5 days before you water again.

Hey ksrogers, how tall does my dill get before it dies? About 1/1000th of an inch taller than it was when I planted it. I plant nursery stock - and this year even the nursery stock doesn't look too good. One of two things happens - the dill hangs on for a couple of months - never getting any bigger - just hanging in. Or it dies within a couple of days of being planted. This has been true whether I plant it in a pot or in the herb garden. All the other herbs - annuals and perennials - do fine in the herb garden. I don't lose anything else I plant in pots. So there has to be something dill wants that it's really not getting from me. I asked about this on the Georgia forum to see what gardeners in my area know. So far, they are having similar problems. The only person who isn't having problems also grows dill from seed. Could it just be that dill doesn't transplant well?

Could it just be that dill doesn't transplant well?

That's it in a nutshell! Dill has a long tap root and transplanting it can be a major challenge. You'll have the best luck with the smallest dill. And I mean only a couple inches tall. Better to buy a pack of seeds and scatter them over the area. They usually sprout in 10-14 days. Let some of the plants go to seed and they'll self sow for next year.

Thanks for the help guys. I bought a package of seeds today and scattered some in a large container and some in the herb garden. It might be too late here because of the heat, but I saved some of the seeds to scatter in the fall too. Turns out that dill probably likes cooler weather than it will get in Georgia, so I can expect it to croak anyway in July. I think I need to find a new favorite herb. Or wait until fall to enjoy it. We usually don't get a first frost until December, so that should give me plenty of growing time for a fall crop.

Again, thanks for answering my question.

I am cheap. In the herb section of the supermarket or sometimes in the produce section are either bags or small containers of seed herbs. You know the ones like dill, coriander, fennel etc. At my store you can purchase a small container for $0.89-$1.25 which has more than I need for planting. I have been told that some spice companies are now treating their seeds so they will not sprout. but that price for about two tablespoons of seed is a lot cheaper than the packets.

Sugarhill, consider yourself lucky if it lasts until July. I have some that's already going to seed and the rest won't be far behind in this heat. I envy people who can grow cukes and dill at the same time. Never happen here.

I cannot believe all the dill thats now coming up everywhere around teh outers edges of my garden. All of this was never planted as seed or otherwise, and my whole garden was tilled twice this spring beforehand. The dill his almost a foot tall (mammouth type) and has green ferns every where. I will be harvesting all of it before it goes to seed, and will dry out the weed to be used later. With what I see growing, it should half fill a quart canning jar once dried and crushed. This stuff is a real weed here, but a nice one that I don't mind growing. If I grew this from seed indoors in pots, it would never grow as good as it does outside. My dill does like partial sun, and if I planted cukes right now, I would expect that they would be pickable about the same time the dill has started to seed.

Try it from seed. Mine re-seeds every year and it comes up everywhere. I even harvest seed every year (why I don't know- I suppose to plant it into nice straight rows) You should have no trouble if starting it from seed, I have never transplanted it.

To get cukes & dill at the same time I plant it in stages. Start out with a partial row early, then every 2 weeks plant a little more, this way I have it flowering all summer. And as the early stuff goes to seed I let it go and it grows more. I have had fresh dill into November (with a row cover to protect it from freezing).

I'm glad I'm not the only one. They get to 3 inches tall, all silky and then they flop over, lay flat and their done.... Three times in a row. Last time I added coffee grounds to the dirt but I can't make it work!