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Gardeners most often plant dill seedlings to speed up the development of culture. Also, the method is resorted to in the case of planting its bush varieties. It is known that the plant sprouts for a rather long time, and, despite the fact that it is resistant to cold, even with the earliest possible planting in open ground, the crop does not begin to bring before mid-June. But if you grow this spicy greens through seedlings, the first cut can be done as early as early May.
Dill was brought to Our Country in the XNUMXth century.
What does dill seedlings look like?
This plant belongs to the Umbelliferae family and is one of the most common herbs in many countries of the world. Dill contains many vitamins and minerals, carotene, folic acid. It has a beneficial effect on health, its regular use helps to normalize blood pressure and metabolic processes, improve appetite. In order for this useful herb to be on the table as early as possible, people began to grow it through seedlings. Thus, the seedlings of the crop are ready for transplantation literally a couple of weeks after germination, and its first crop ripens in the spring, a month and a half after sowing.
Good seedlings, which will bring a lot of greenery, should look healthy. Her bunches look strong and lush, bright green in color. Branches should not droop.
When to plant dill for seedlings
In order for the crop seedlings to grow well by the beginning of the spring season, dill seeds for seedlings should be sown in April. In the case when further cultivation will take place in a greenhouse, work is performed at the beginning of the month. If the seedlings are planned to be transplanted into open ground, then the deadline is postponed to the middle or end of April. Sowing time directly depends on such factors:
- required number of days for germination;
- seedling planting site;
- growing season;
- frost resistance of the variety;
- estimated timing of cutting greens;
- the purpose of growing the plant;
- features of the climate of the landing region.
In addition to the fact that the plant is widely used in cooking, all its parts are also used in medicine.
How to grow dill seedlings
Grow a crop for seedlings in several ways. After reviewing the available options, the gardener can choose the one that suits him best. In addition to the fact that the seeds are sown according to the standard scheme in containers filled with earth, many grow dill seedlings in cigarette rolls (snails), which is no less convenient.
If dill umbrellas are not removed in the fall, next year it will sprout in the same place.
Site Selection
The best place for growing seedlings of spicy greens is a bright window sill. Containers are placed on it immediately after friendly seedlings of the culture appear on the surface of the soil. If daylight is still short, you need to take care of additional lighting of young greenery.
The temperature in the room where the culture will be kept should be between + 15-18 ° С.
Seed preparation
In order for planting to bring a good and plentiful harvest, it is important to choose and prepare crop seeds for sowing correctly. If they are collected independently, then this should be done exclusively from healthy plants. Pay attention to the aroma. Good planting material has a characteristic smell, while old seedlings do not smell of anything. In addition, high-quality dill seeds should be cool to the touch.
To improve the germination of planting material, it is desirable to get rid of excess essential oil, for which alternately lower it for a couple of seconds, first in hot, then in cold water. This procedure must be repeated about twenty times. After the seeds need to be transferred to wet gauze and left in it for several days.
In the case when dill seeds for seedlings are purchased in a store, there is no need to calibrate them. But they are still advised to soak for speedy germination.
The seeds of this spicy herb usually give good germination.
Soil Preparation
For a pronounced aroma and taste of dill green mass, it should be planted in high-quality soil, which must meet a number of requirements, have:
- a sufficient amount of trace elements;
- good aeration;
- acidity index not more than 7,5 pH.
For planting dill for seedlings, ready-made soil is perfect, you can also take the soil from the site and mix it in a 1: 1 ratio with humus.
Capacity selection
As for the container, you can take almost any container as it, dill seedlings grow in cups, containers, peat pots. You can plant it in small boxes.
If the seeds are placed in a plastic dish, then drainage holes will need to be made in its bottom.
Sowing scheme
Planting dill for seedlings does not require complex actions. Its scheme looks like this:
- At the bottom of the containers, a two-centimeter layer of drainage is organized.
- Pour fertile soil, not reaching the edge of the container by 10 mm.
- Water well and let the water soak in.
- Seeds are laid out on the surface, sprinkled with a small layer of soil.
- Moisturize plantings from a spray bottle.
- Cover the containers with foil and clean in a room where the temperature is kept at about 20 ° C.
To save space, many housewives grow dill seedlings in a snail without using soil. The method has recently gained popularity among gardeners, due to the fact that it is more convenient, faster and less expensive. To do this, fold a plastic bag in half lengthwise, lay toilet paper on top of it, moisten it with water. Stepping back 1 cm from the edge, the seeds are laid out along the entire length with an interval of 1 cm, rolled up, placed in a plastic container with a small amount of water, covered with a bag on top and waiting for the sprouts to appear.
Dill seedlings usually fully germinate in 14-20 days
Further Care
Despite the fact that dill is an unpretentious culture, it still needs care. After shoots appear on the surface of the earth, the seedlings are placed on the windowsill and suitable conditions are created for it. Watering is carried out exclusively with water that has settled for at least 12 hours so that the soil is constantly wet, and a crust does not form on its surface. When the seedlings grow to 3 cm, they are thinned out. If the soil for sowing was fertile, seedlings do not need to be fed.
Planting dill seedlings in open ground
Planting dill seedlings in open ground can be started as early as two weeks after germination. To do this, choose a site on which any plants grew last year, except for Umbelliferae, since crops are affected by the same diseases and insects.
Before performing work, it is necessary to prepare the bed in advance. To do this, dig the soil along with humus, remove debris and weeds. Dill seedling bushes are planted at a distance of 20 cm from each other, while they cannot be deeply buried. Landing is done in the early morning, after sunset or on a cloudy day. Before placing dill seedlings in a permanent place, the ground is well moistened.
After transplanting the culture, it must be looked after. Agrotechnics for growing dill involves regular watering with settled water, loosening the top layer of the earth, and removing weeds. To improve the yield, monthly fertilizer of spicy greens with nitroammophos is allowed.
Dense plantings of dill negatively affect its yield
Conclusion
Planting dill seedlings is quite easy. Anyone, even a novice gardener, can handle this procedure. If you follow the above recommendations, then fresh herbs can be obtained about a month earlier than the standard time. Dill is a very useful plant that should be included in the diet of every person.
