Saving dill seeds from your garden is easy and frugal! In this post, I will show you exactly when and how to harvest dill seeds, and what to do with dill seeds after you’re done collecting them.
Dill is a popular herb that many gardeners grow in their garden every summer. It’s an annual herb that can be used in tons of recipes.
It’s also a host plant for the swallowtail butterfly caterpillar. So, even if you don’t love to eat dill, it’s still an essential herb to include in every vegetable garden.
The best part about dill? It’s easy to collect dill seeds, so you can grow it in your garden year after year.
Harvesting Dill Seeds From Your Garden
I like to collect several types of seeds from my garden every year, and dill is one of my favorites.
Many times you don’t even have to collect dill seeds, sometimes they will readily reseed themselves with no help from you.
But, if you want to make sure that you have plenty of dill seed for planting next year, then you’ll definitely want to take a little time to harvest dill seeds.
When To Harvest Dill Seeds
In order for the dill plant to set seed, it must first bolt (i.e.: flower). So, if you want to be able to harvest dill seeds from your garden, allow a few of your plants to flower.
Once the flowers fade, the dill seeds will start to form at the tips of the star shaped flower stems.
Allow the seeds to dry on the plant, but don’t leave dill seeds on the plant too long or they will eventually blow away.
What Do Dill Seeds Look Like?
Dill seeds are flat and oval shaped. They are grayish-brown in color, with lighter colored stripes running the length of the seed, and also around the outer edge of the seeds.
How To Harvest Dill Seeds
The easiest way to harvest dill seed is to clip the entire flower head from the plant, and dropping them into a paper bag or bucket.
You may want to clip it off over a container because the seeds can start to drop from the plant when it’s disturbed.
Then you can collect dill seeds by gently pinching them off, or by shaking the bag or bucket the flower heads are in.
Some of the seeds will come off easily, while others will want to hold on. So sometimes it can be a bit tedious to get every single dill seed.
What To Do With Dill Seeds After Harvesting
You can plant your dill seeds right away, or save them for planting next year. Just be sure to allow your dill seeds to dry out completely before storing them.
Once your seeds have completely dried out, store them in a plastic container (film canisters are the perfect size!), a paper bag, or use small envelopes.
If you want to share your dill seeds with friends, you can buy customized envelopes, or make your own DIY seed envelopes.
I store my seeds in clear plastic containers, but if you’re more organized than I am, you will love a Seed Keeper.
If you love growing dill, take a little time to collect and store dill seeds from your garden. They are fun to share with friends or trade for other seeds – and best of all, you’ll never have to buy dill seeds again!
If you’re tired of struggling, and want to learn how to grow any plant you want from seed, then enroll in my online Seed Starting Course. It’s a wonderful, fun, self-paced course that will teach you everything you need to know to easily grow your own seedlings. Enroll and get started today!
Or, if you just need a refresher, then my Starting Seeds Indoors eBook is for you! It’s a quick-start guide that will get you planting seeds in no time.
More Posts About Saving Seeds
- Collecting & Storing Bean Seeds
- Collect Lavender Seeds From Your Garden
- How To Collect Cilantro Seeds From Your Garden
- How To Harvest Chive Seeds & Save Them
Share you tips for how to harvest dill seed from your garden in the comments section below.
Marissa says
How do I completely dry the seeds before storing? Do I use a dehydrator or does laying them out in a single layer work?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Just laying your dill seeds out for a few days is all you need to do, they dry pretty fast.
Carol S. says
I have a dill plant in my Aerogarden, (indoors) and it has a couple of flower stalks now. I’ve noticed that if I disturb it, either yellow pollen or tiny yellow flower petals fall from it. Do the flowers need to be pollinated? How long does it take after flowering to go to seed? I’d like to collect them and start some more. Thanks!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Technically dill can self-pollinate, but it’s not the most reliable way to get seeds. I would recommend helping it out by using your finger or a paint brush, and gently touching each flower one after another. Do this daily, and you should get some seeds soon enough.
Patrick Cox says
I bought whole dill seed from the store and used a coffee grinder to ground it for seasoning. The problem is, after finishing, the clear top plastic lid of the grinder is cloudy and I can’t seem to get it clean. I’ve used dish soap, hot water, toothpaste, baking soda and a mix of the two. Any suggestions? Thank you!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Humm… I’m not really sure, I’ve never had that problem. Dill seeds do contain oils, so that’s probably what is sticking to the lid. I would try soaking it in vinegar to see if that gets rid of it. Otherwise, something that will break up the oils should help.
Stephanie says
I dehydrated my dill heads in an electric dehydrator , will the seeds be usable to grow dill next season?
Amy Andrychowicz says
It depends on the temperature that you dehydrator was set at when you dried your dill seeds. If it was higher than 125F (give or take), then it may have cooked the seeds enough to kill the viability. But if it was lower than that, they might be ok. The only way to know for sure is to perform a quick viability test on them.
Bill says
How do you clean the dill seeds after you’ve collected and dried them?
Amy Andrychowicz says
I don’t clean the dill seeds after collecting them. Mine have never been dirty, so there’s really no need to.
Deb Hoos says
I live in Nebraska, where the winters can be pretty rough. How do I get my dill stalks ready for the winter. Do I cut them down a few inches to the ground? Thank you.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Dill is an annual herb. So that means that the plant will die this year, and you’ll need to grow new ones next year. It doesn’t come back from the same plant year after year. It’s easy to grow from seed though. I just spread the seeds in the garden in the fall, and have tons of dill spring through fall. Or you can harvest dill seeds and save them for planting next year.
Nikki says
I love Dill … I know most people make Tomato Basil soup, but Tomato Dill is even better in my opinion.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yum, that sounds good!