Taming the Dill

[Oscar]

Hey folks.

Any pointers on doing early pruning of dill? Most videos I've found online do a "haircut" in a straight line across the top, but I don't think I can do that just yet.

Here's what it looks like now:



I mostly just don't want it to take over before the other plants get to grow.

[lynnee]

I'm no expert on dill, but I would take off the big stems that are growing far to the sides, out of their space. I see four of those. If the plant faltered after that pruning, I'd just start a new pod. A straight-across haircut doesn't sound like a terrible idea, either, though I'd leave at least one central stem alone.

The beauty of AGs is that if you do some radical pruning or root-trimming and it kills the plant, it's easy to start over and try something else the next time.

[scarfguy]

Aug 27, 2023 19:30:50 GMT -5 lynnee said:

I'm no expert on dill, but I would take off the big stems that are growing far to the sides, out of their space. I see four of those. If the plant faltered after that pruning, I'd just start a new pod. A straight-across haircut doesn't sound like a terrible idea, either.

I agree with lynnee.  I've pruned dill rather vigorously without any detriment. 

Leave that big clump in the center, though. It's poised to grow rapidly in the near future.

[Oscar]

Thanks for the pointers! I'll go ahead and remove those stems. Generally, with herbs, is it possible to start new pods once you've already got plants growing? I have another AG that I started ~3 weeks ago and had some rosemary that didn't sprout with the rest of the pods, but I'm worried it'll be too far behind the other plants if I start a new pod now.

[scarfguy]

FYI: Rosemary is really, really slow at germinating. When planting in an AG with other herbs, I always start the rosemary about 2-3 weeks before the rest. Oregano can be slow also. Basil is fast, parsley is in the middle.

[Oscar]

Okay, that's really good to know! I was approaching the 3 week mark and had almost given up hope on it. I'll keep the dream alive for now.

I've learned so much in just this first run—I've been shocked at how fast some plants are and how slow others have been.

[Oscar]

Aug 27, 2023 19:33:15 GMT -5 scarfguy said:

Aug 27, 2023 19:30:50 GMT -5 lynnee said:

I'm no expert on dill, but I would take off the big stems that are growing far to the sides, out of their space. I see four of those. If the plant faltered after that pruning, I'd just start a new pod. A straight-across haircut doesn't sound like a terrible idea, either.

I agree with lynnee .  I've pruned dill rather vigorously without any detriment. 

Leave that big clump in the center, though. It's poised to grow rapidly in the near future.

I can confirm the dill seems to take no issue with frequent pruning. I've been pruning it nearly every other day and it seems to grow back even bigger by the next morning! I moved the light up for the first time for it. The other plants are just big enough that now they're ~6" from the light.

Now I understand why it's called dill weed!