Dill microgreens are very flavorful and one of my favorite microgreens to dress up a salmon or whitefish dish. But before we can talk about how to use dill microgreens in the kitchen, we need to grow these dill microgreens. This article will show you how to grow dill microgreens very easily in 13 days from seed to harvest.
- Equipment & Supplies You Will Need to Grow Dill Microgreens
- How to Grow Dill Microgreens
- How Much Dill Seed to Use
- Spread the Seeds and Wet Them Down
- Use the Weighted Blackout Method for Dill Microgreens
- Do Nothing for 72 Hours
- Removing Dill Microgreens From the Blackout
- Watering Microgreens
- Day One Under the Light
- Growing Dill Microgreens
- First True Leaves
- Ready to Harvest Your Dill Microgreens
- Dill Microgreen Flavor
- How to Use Dill Microgreens
- Dill Microgreen Benefits & Nutrition
- Where to Buy Dill Microgreen Seed
I will touch on how to use dill microgreens, their flavor, and nutritional value later on in this article, but I want to get right down to how to grow these wonderful, frilly, and flavorful microgreens.
Equipment & Supplies You Will Need to Grow Dill Microgreens
Here are the equipment and supplies you will need to grow the dill microgreens.
A place to set your tray during germination and at least a shop light for the growing stage. You can see my setups in my Free Microgreen Growing Course. I show you several recommendations for where to grow microgreens and all of the equipment you will need. Check it out here.
Dill Seed from a seed supplier – not a health store or spice store. You will have no idea how old those seeds are. More on how much seed to use later on in the article.
A tray with holes in the bottom (planting tray), and one without holes (watering tray) that the former can set into. Ideally, they fit snuggly but if not that is ok too.
I like to grow microgreens on soil (potting mix). I feel you get better microgreens and they grow faster. Again, I have some recommendations for good high-quality potting mixes in this article (upcoming).
FREE Home Microgreens Grow course that teaches you the basics of growing microgreens in your home! There are 12 video lessons (over 120 minutes), downloads, and more written information and tips!
A spray bottle of water.
A lid or cover for the tray, the darker the better. I like to use coroplast because it is inexpensive, light, and cleans much easier than anything else after use.
Some sort of weight. It can be a 1-liter water bottle, bricks, steel weights, heavier books, or anything that can fit on the tray. The picture below will give you a better idea.
How to Grow Dill Microgreens
Fill the planting tray with potting mix. I like to use shallow trays because I can fill the tray with soil and it makes it easier for germination and harvesting.
I will be using my Home Microgreens Planting Trays. These are ideal for dill microgreens because you don’t need a whole lot of dill microgreens at any one time.
The potting Mix I use is the Home Microgreens Potting Mix blend it is coconut coir-based and contains natural amendments for better growth.
Unlike many microgreen growers, I do not suggest you wet all of the soil. The seeds don’t need the soil at the bottom of the tray to have moisture. I wet the soil until the top 1/3rd is moist.
A spray bottle works well, there are also pump sprayers that are nice if you plant a lot of trays.
How Much Dill Seed to Use
For the Home Microgreens Tray, I use 2.5 grams of dill seed. That is 1-1/2 teaspoons.
If I was planting a 1010 tray I’d use around 6.6 grams, or slightly less than four teaspoons.
If you have an odd-sized tray, I have a seed density calculator you can use in my patron member area. Those are level teaspoons and I like to use these straight-sided measuring spoons for more accurate results.
Also, on each microgreen seed product page in the Home Microgreen Store, there is a Seed Density tab that lists the correct amount of seed to use.
Spread the Seeds and Wet Them Down
Spread the seeds as evenly as you can within reason and gently mist the seeds until they are wet. Now they are ready for the weighted blackout.
Use the Weighted Blackout Method for Dill Microgreens
The weighted blackout method is one of the principal ways to germinate microgreens. It keeps the moisture level high, the weight and tray separator cause great seed-to-soil contact, and the weight forces the plant to set deep roots making a sturdier and stronger microgreen.
You can learn more about the weighted blackout and its benefits in this detailed article with video.
Do Nothing for 72 Hours
Yep, don’t look at them, don’t lift the cover, leave them alone for at least 3 days.
It will be hard not to look I know, but it is for the best.
Removing Dill Microgreens From the Blackout
After 3 days, check the dill microgreens by carefully lifting the weight and cover.
If they look like the microgreens in the image below they are ready to go under the light. If they are smaller, then place the cover and weight back on them and wait another day before checking.
Don’t worry, they will straighten out and green up quickly!
If the tray is ready, place it under your lights. Shop lights will work, I recommend lights of at least 5,000K (see the free course on recommendations), but there is no need for expensive and powerful grow lights.
Dill microgreens can grow in a sunny window, but they will be leggier and you will have to rotate the tray often to straighten them up.
I recommend getting some lights because you will want to grow microgreens in the winter months and there will not be enough sunlight during that time of the year.
I leave my lights on 15 to 16 hours a day.
Watering Microgreens
Now is the time to give these microgreens some water.
But whatever you do, don’t water over the top.
We do not want the leaves or stems wet.
Instead, we add water to the bottom watering tray.
I have an article that explains how much water to use depending on the size tray you are using. Here is a link to the How to Water Microgreens article.
Also, when you lift this tray, keep a mental note of how heavy the tray feels. More on this later and watering microgreens in the section on growing dill microgreens.
Day One Under the Light
See how quickly they grow and green up!
I always find this amazing!
The dill seed variety I use is called Bouquet and it is the most commonly grown dill for microgreens and in the garden.
You can use the same seeds, or even transplant a few of these microgreens into a larger pot for growing on if you want.
Notice the dark brown layer on the microgreens. This is common and nothing to worry about.
Growing Dill Microgreens
Now all we need to do is to keep them watered and under the lights for a few more days.
We do not water microgreens every day (unless they need it) nor do we water microgreens on a schedule.
Microgreens will use different amounts of water each day depending on the environmental conditions, how fast the microgreens are growing, and the number of plants in the tray.
So to check on when microgreens need water, lift the tray. If it feels the same as when you took them out of the blackout, then the tray needs water. If the tray is heavier, then they don’t need water.
I watered this tray again on the eighth day.
It is easy to tell, good potting mixes hold a lot of water and you will notice a weight difference between a dry tray and one that doesn’t need water.
Again, refer to the watering article for the amount depending on your tray size.
Check them every day to see if they need water, but only water when the tray is nearly dry.
Less water in the system means fewer problems.
First True Leaves
True leaves are the leaves that look like mature plant leaves. The first smooth leaves that form are called cotyledons or seed leaves.
About day ten or eleven (from planting) the first frilly or lacey true leaves will start to form.
This means we are getting there. The true leaves are hard to see in this photo because they are so small. There are better pictures of the true leaves in the next section.
Continue caring for your dill microgreens in the meantime.
Ready to Harvest Your Dill Microgreens
Dill microgreens will be ready for harvest between 12 and 15 days after planting. The tray you see below took 13 days.
Now, these dill microgreens can be harvested, but they will still continue to grow so you can harvest only what you need at any one time.
I use a very sharp knife or a pair of good scissors to harvest microgreens. Again, the free microgreen growing course has a great lesson on how to harvest and store microgreens.
When you are tired of watering the rest of your dill microgreens or they are tall and falling all over the place, you can finish harvesting the tray.
You can keep them in the crisper section of the refrigerator, or you can dry them into dill weed and use them as a spice.
That’s it on how to grow dill microgreens! It is pretty simple and straightforward once you have the correct amount of seed.
Dill Microgreen Flavor
Dill microgreens taste like dill weed, maybe a little stronger flavor. If there are any seed pods left on the leaves, that is okay, they are edible and contain flavor too.
You will find that dill microgreens are more tender than dill weed, but I still like to lightly chop the stems and leaves when it is time to use them.
How to Use Dill Microgreens
Dill microgreens can be used to flavor salads, both green salads as well as cold salads like potato or macaroni salad.
My favorite use of dill microgreens is on salmon filets. I chop them finely and place them on top of the salmon after cooking.
Dill microgreens are also great on smoked salmon or with sushi or sushi rolls.
I have also used them when poaching fish in aluminum foil packets. Coarsely chop the dill microgreens and sprinkle on the fish before closing up the packet.
This year, I used the microgreens shown in this article for my pickles. I placed dill flower heads but also dill microgreens in the jars before I canned them. Both in fridge pickles and the pressure canned jars.
Dill microgreens are an excellent addition to dips, especially dips with sour cream.
For other pairings of dill microgreens, check out this article on how to use microgreens and food pairings.
Dill Microgreen Benefits & Nutrition
In my thoroughly researched microgreen nutritional course, I found that dill microgreens and dill weed are high in Vitamin A, B2, B6, B9, and C, calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, contain Vitamin B1 B3, and zinc at reasonable concentrations.
Dill microgreens and dill weed have a lot of flavor and nutrition.
Dill weed by the way is the leaves from mature dill plants. They look exactly like the first true leaves but are a bit tougher and coarser.
Rich in Antioxidants
Antioxidants are naturally occurring compounds that help protect cells against damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals.
Research suggests that foods rich in antioxidants may help reduce chronic inflammation and prevent or even treat certain conditions, including heart disease, Alzheimer’s, rheumatoid arthritis, and certain forms of cancer.
May Benefit Heart Health
Flavonoids, like those found in dill, have been shown to protect heart health due to their potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
May Help Lower Blood Sugar Levels
Dill has been suggested to have blood-sugar-lowering effects.
In fact, several studies in animals with diabetes have shown a significant improvement in fasting blood sugar levels with daily doses of dill extract.
May Have Anti-cancer Properties
Monoterpenes are a class of terpenes, which are naturally occurring plant compounds that are linked to anticancer, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties.
They’re commonly found in dill and have been associated with anti-cancer properties.
As dill is high in monoterpenes, particularly d-limonene, it may have anticancer properties. However, there’s currently no research on the effectiveness of dill or dill extract on the risk or treatment of cancer.
Other Potential Benefits
Dill may benefit your health in the following ways as well:
- Antibacterial properties. Essential oils in dill have antibacterial effects which fight potentially harmful bacteria.
- Bone health. Dill contains calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus — all of which are important for bone health.
Where to Buy Dill Microgreen Seed
You can purchase dill seed in the Home Microgreens Store and help support this website so I can continue to create articles like this one and those linked throughout.
Give dill microgreens a try, you will enjoy the process and experience, and your taste buds will like it too!