Dill

Dill belongs to the umbrella family. Although this culture is undemanding to fertility of soils, it grows better on organic soils. Dill is cold-hardened, the seeds are pecked at 2 degrees of heat, shoots appear at 5-6 degrees of heat after 2-3 weeks. Germination can be accelerated for a week, pre-soaking seeds in water. At a higher temperature( 18-20 degrees) dill rises after 10-12 days. Dill shoots withstand short-term frosts to -6 degrees.

Dill is photophilic, it will not grow under the trees. Do not like dill and acid soil, the pH reaction should be close to 5. Agronorm at dill is only 9, that is, it does not need fertilizing, but it has a balance of 33: 22: 45, that is, he is a great fan of phosphorus and potassium.

As it grows quite quickly( greens for cutting are ready already 30 days after emergence), before sowing it is necessary to fill the soil with potash and phosphorus fertilizers, evenly loosening the soil in 2 tbsp.spoons of superphosphate and 1 tbsp.a spoonful of chlorine-free potassium fertilizer for every meter of the bed. The beds should be clean from weeds. The easiest way is to sow dill the same way as parsley. Then you do not need to make anything except AVA.

Since many varieties of dill quite quickly throw out the flower spike, it should not be sown all at once, but it is better to sow it every 10-15 days. But there are real bush fennies Buyan and Salute, which give a lush greenery all summer and therefore do not require under-crops. In the axils of leaves, new rosettes of leaves are laid, so when you tear off the lower leaves, several new ones grow instead.

Homeland - the Mediterranean. An annual spicy-aromatic green plant. The stem of the dill is erect, the leaves are pinnately dissected, the color of the leaves and stem is light green, the root is thin spindly. Inflorescence - a complex umbrella, consisting of small umbrellas, which are flowers. Fruit - seed, up to b mm. In writing, use the entire aboveground part of the plant.

Dill is a cold-resistant plant, the seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of + 3 ° C.

Dill plants, including its seeds, are used in food, confectionery, perfume industry, as well as in medicine. They contain a significant amount of vitamins( C, A, B1, B2, P, PP), in addition, characterized by the presence in readily digestible form of salts of potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus.

Using in the room conditions different terms of sowing, dill greens can practically be obtained during the whole year.♦ Accommodation. In autumn and winter, fennel should be grown in rooms, on a window with high illumination, in the warm season on balconies, loggias and terraces. The optimum temperature for growth and development of dill is in the range of +16 - + 17 ° C, and for ripening seeds +18 - + 20 ° C.

♦ Planting and care. Seeding of dill seeds, as well as other green crops, is carried out in boxes or pots. To obtain a high yield, you should use light, humus-rich soils, best of all with a neutral reaction. To obtain greenery, we recommend performing stepwise sowing at intervals of 30-40 days. In a small box, you need to sow 3 to 5 grams of seeds. With the emergence of shoots, plants are thinned, leaving one plant 2 to 3 cm from the other. Watering is abundant, especially during the germination of seeds and the growth of young plants. After 40-50 days, you can use leaves and individual shoots for food.

Once every two weeks, fertilizing with concentrated concentrated fertilizers "Rainbow" is carried out.

For indoor conditions, the following dill varieties should be used: Gribovsky, Kaskelensky, Armenian 269, Uzbek 243 and others.

♦ Pests and diseases. The main pest of dill is hawthorn aphids, causing twisting and drying of leaves.

Of diseases, fusariosis and powdery mildew cause the greatest damage to dill.

♦ Reproduction - by seeds.

Application of

Dill leaves have a specific strong aroma. Dill is used fresh or in winter in dried and canned. Dill season with potato and milk soups, fish and meat dishes, sauces, it is added when pickling and pickling vegetables, salads, anointings from cottage cheese or cheese.

In folk medicine, dill is recommended for improving digestion and working the stomach.

Infusion of dill leaves is used together with other medicines in the first stages of hypertension, the infusion is used and as an analgesic and soothing agent for various pains and excessive nervous excitability.

The bush fennel is not cut, they are gradually, all season, "undressed".These fennel should be grown through seedlings. At the end of March, sow 2 seeds in yogurt cups, then leave the best of the grown plants, cut the second with manicure scissors according to the soil level. Transplant the seedlings into place when it has 5-6 true leaves, at a distance of 30 x 30 cm from each other. I usually plant her in the first of May in a garden along the aisle in the greenhouse. It is enough 20 bushes not only for constant food, but also for billets for future use. It is interesting that in Bujan leaf veins and even the stems themselves do not become rigid, so when drying and salting for future use they can be used along with the leaves.

Very rarely it is possible to get their seeds, as the bush fennel gives a flower arrow 180-200 days after sowing and the seeds do not have time to ripen in most regions located north of Moscow.

In addition to bushy there are still well-leafed dill: Boreas, Kibray, Anna, Bouquet for Shurik, Superdukat, Excellent Semko and others. They should be sown at intervals of 2 weeks throughout May and early June. Then you will always have a large amount of green cut. Seeds of these varieties of dill do not ripen in the open ground in the Northwest, but they can be obtained in the greenhouse. In the North-West, only seeds of Lesnorodsky breed in the soil, which is also well-layered dill. If you do not dig the place of summer sowing of this fennel, then it will easily resume for the next year by self-sowing. Therefore, it can be grown in one place for a few years, but do not forget to add ashes and superphosphate to this place in the autumn.

Dill does not like dung, but if it grows poorly, pour it once or twice with infusion of weeds. The main thing is for the soil to be rich in organic matter and not to form a crust after rains and watering.

There is another group of dill - early. They very quickly throw out a flower arrow and practically do not give green. The veins of the leaves are stiff, not very edible. They are grown not for greens sake, but for the sake of an early umbrella for pickling and canning. They are also reproduced by self-sowing in the open ground.

Dill has a couple of pests: an umbrella leaf block and an earthen flea. An umbrella leaf-block, because of which the leaves of dill and carrots are curled, is an early bird. If the crops produced at the end of April are immediately covered with lutrasil, then it is not terrible, since it hibernates on the pine and other conifers, and flies to breed in the early spring for umbrella cultures. An earthy, black, small flea winters in the soil, so lutrasil from it will not save. The blossom can be discouraged if you sprinkle the growing dill with the solution of the biological preparation "Fitoverm".Protection for 3 weeks is provided, and you can eat dill after 48 hours after spraying.

Among the most common diseases - powdery mildew, which manifests itself as a white coating on the leaves. Spraying with biological preparation "Fitosporin" helps a lot. Dill can be eaten 48 hours after spraying. Vertical fade wilt is an incurable viral disease. There is nothing to help the plant, it remains only to tear it to avoid infection of other plants, and burn, and not put in compost. Less common is a black leg in young shoots. Here will help "Phytosporin", which should be watered the soil. Sometimes the dill leaves turn red, then die. More often it occurs on acidic clay soils. At the first signs of redness of the leaves, feed the dill with potassium and calcium, and sprinkle with "Phytosporin".

Dill increases appetite, normalizes many physiological processes in the body. Fresh greens of dill contains vitamins, organic acids, mineral salts. Dill is used in salads as an aromatic spicy-flavor additive to any food, but especially widely - for salting, pickling and canning vegetables, meat and fish for future use. Dill retains the aroma during drying and salting.

Dill can be dried( only not in the sun) or salt for the winter. For salting, it is washed, allowed to drain water, finely cut, densely packed in glass jars, pouring salt. Store in the refrigerator.