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Gary350
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2nd year Dill Plant?

My dill plant looks much different than last year I am wondering why?

pepperhead212
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I'd like to see a pic of that different dill plant. I always thought that dill was an annual plant. I know they bolt the first year, so they won't be like parsley, which looks totally different, and bolts early in that second season.

I was surprised with the dill that I grew indoors this year, in hydroponics. It still has not bolted, after 5 months, and I cut large bunches of dill from the 4 plants in one clump, and it grows right back! I normally just cut it as I need it, but this, the epazote, and one of the basils would get so overgrown, and up into the lights, that I'd have to just cut them way back, even if I couldn't use it! I never thought of dill as a cut and come again plant, but it is, inside. I'm thinking that it may be something to do with the length of day, that makes them bolt, as the days begin to get shorter when summer starts. And inside, I have lights on 16 hrs/day.

Vanisle_BC
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Dill is definitely an annual for me, that makes seed in its first summer. It also self-seeds like crazy so I try to harvest or bag the heads before they can scatter seed. My dill grow tall & skinny; I plant a small group in a tomato cage.

In my case the foliage is really sparse: I don't harvest it. Cilantro/Coriander behave much the same and I grow them the same way.

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Gary350
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Here is a picture. Last year it did not grow very large but it had a lot of green hair type stuff growing. First year it had a good dill smell and flavor. This year no hair looking stuff and dill smell and flavor is not as strong. This years plant is already larger than last years plant. I am not 100% sure the plant died during winter. 40 years ago my dill plant grew 6 ft tall and lived through 2 winters then died the 3rd winter. This is not good soil next to the house it is very hard.
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pepperhead212
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That doesn't look like dill, though I'm not sure what it could be, with a dill aroma, as well as something that would grow 6' tall. Maybe somebody else has some ideas.

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applestar
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I agree — it looks like some kind of a carrot... could be Queen Ann’s Lace, too?

But earliest spring carrot-looking herb that grows in my garden is Chervil, I think. Does it have more of a licorice/anise-like aroma?

Vanisle_BC
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Agreed that it's not dill. I don't think it's Queen Anne's Lace or Chervil either - foliage not feathery enough? The leaves look vaguely familiar, like a well-known word I can't drag from the back of my brain, (brain!?) or an old friend whose name escapes me. Grrrr.

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applestar
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Does it look like it’s sending up a stalk? Could it be water hemlock? ...or parsnip?

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Gary350
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applestar wrote:Does it look like it’s sending up a stalk? Could it be water hemlock? ...or parsnip?
Plant is starting to grow something straight up out of the center like a stalk. Weather in the mid 70s and 80 on Saturday it will be growing faster soon. It has a very good Dill smell. It tasted different than it tasted last summer, more of a bitter parsley taste. Soil here is terrible. Last summer I tried to grow dill in a pot but it would not grow so I got frustrated and dumped the whole package of seeds here then after a few days of rain 1 plant grew. Maybe I should fertilize it.

I am making a small herb garden maybe I need to buy new dill seeds and start over. Are there more than 1 type of dill? Which 1 is best?

My Greek oregano survives the winter I planted it today.

I am looking for Tuscan Rosemary no one has plants until after April 20.

Which Thyme is best?

Parsley survived winter too but I'm not going to transplant it.

Not sure I will plant basil this year we have not been cooking with it.

I might plant fennel.

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applestar
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There are two types of dill but I don’t remember which variety is which — one type grows big umbels of flowers relatively quickly for putting in pickle jars, and the other type is slow to bolt/flower and makes lots of leaves.

There are two basic types of culinary thyme — English and French — and French thyme is less cold hardy and I can’t grow them here to overwinter outside, but I expect you can.
- There are two types of variegated thyme — white edged (“silver”) and yellow edged (“gold”). They seem to be more cold sensitive but I think they are “English” species.
- There are also other scented thymes like lemon thyme and I think orange thyme?
- Also creeping and “mother of” thyme which are useful for edging/planting between flagstone and brick paths, etc. I am cultivating an expanding patch as alternative, drought tolerant, no-mow lawn in front of the house. (DH “complains” that the area throws him off because they are TOO SHORT for the mower to cut :lol: ).

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Gary350
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Which is a good sage to grow?

Vanisle_BC
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Gary350 wrote:Which is a good sage to grow?
We've tried two types of sage (offhand don't have their proper names) - one 'ordinary' culinary and one 'white sage' that's apparently used by natives, maybe in smudging ceremonies. That one wasn't a success in our garden but the ordinary one is, and is winter hardy here.

That other plant that you thought was dill? I'm thinking the leaves look like parsley or maybe one of its relatives, if it has any.

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Dukat is the variety of sage that I grew last season, and it bolted slower than any of the other "slo-bolt" varieties I had tried before - the reason that I grew it indoors. And I got a Holt's Mammoth Sage plant in my order from Richter's - a variety I had great success with years ago, until it was killed by very low single digit temps, one winter. It does not flower, so it is only available in plants. Last year, that little plant grew larger than my old Italian sage plant, started from seed.

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applestar
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Years ago, I bought regular culinary sage and tricolor sage — tricolor sage promptly died that winter — not as winter hardy. Regular sage died a couple of years later — I learned sage needed full sun not just in the summertime. The location I chose was well draining but in house shadow mid-fall to early spring.

Last year a friend sent me seeds for “broadleaf” sage (which is same as ordinary culinary sage) and white sage. They had been grown in a windowbox, so I potted them up and overwintered in the Garage “Siberia” — just inside the garage door. I didn’t realize white sage is not cold hardy at all in my area — only to zone 8 — so I’m still looking at the sticks waiting to see if it will come back. Broadleaf not only survived with some living leaves, but is already growing new leaves since I put them out on the patio around St. Pat's.

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Gary350
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After looking at about 20 different sage pictures I think Broad Leaf Sage is the one my father grew. This sage has an extremely strong flavor, 1 leaf from this plant is too much for a large turkey dressing thanksgiving dinner. We were burping up sage for 2 days. It grew good in Illinois, came back every year for 20 years. Cold weather, 0 degrees, snow, ice, never killed it.

I think Silver Sage Brush is what grows wild at the Grand Canyon. This is a very good sage with a fragrance that will fill the whole house. It has a very nice mild sage flavor excellent for cooking. I would love to grow this just to make the whole house smell so good. This plant grows good at 9000 ft elevations 0 degrees in winter, snow, ice, blizzard condition, wind chill 65 below and hot dry desert conditions in summer. It is not a low elevation desert plant where it only rains 2 times per year with 115 degree summer heat. If I were to plant this here it will need to be in a hill of sand to keep roots dry outside in full sun. It will probably do good in a pot of sand. Every time I am at the Grand Canyon I pick a 3" diameter bundle of this sage and bring it home fragrance smells so good it fills the whole house and I can cook with it for 2 years. I am not a person that will baby a plant to keep it alive I can't be planting this too much work for me to keep it alive in TN swap country.

I need a mild flavor sage, easy to grow. It would be nice if it smells good too.
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Gary350
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I bought herbs today. I tasted them before I bought them. I found Tuscan Rosemary then I tasted German Rosemary. I never heard of German Rosemary before but after tasting it I had to taste Tuscan and German several more times to compare. German is much like Tuscan but it has an after taste that is stronger.

There was a dozen different Thyme to choose from I tasted them all an stayed with English Thyme like I had before.

I have not bought sage yet they only had 1 too choose from. Maybe they have more later. Silver Sage Brush would be great but I think I have to make a special place for it in full sun with special soil.

I need to buy a few more plants or plant from seed. Sage, dill, fennel, parsley, savory, chives. I am not planting cilantro here it will bolt too soon. Cilantro will be in full shade it lasted 3 extra weeks last year before it bolted.

I have 4 plants near the back door in full sun 50% of the day. I dug up all the soil & threw it in the garden then make a soil mix with lots of black mulch. This mulch I have is full of fishing worms, I have so many worms I think I could start a fishing worm business.

Tuscan Rosemary
Sweet Marjoram
Greek Oregano
English Thyme
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