SOAKING

Dill seeds are small and do have a hard coating that will benefit from soaking. They can take up to two weeks to germinate without soaking them, or up to one week if you do soak them. Since they’re small, you’ll only need to soak them for about four hours. The drawback is that as they’re small, they may be difficult to spread evenly across the growing medium once they’ve been soaked.

If the dill seeds are planted with the right soil and are provided enough light and moisture, they’ll germinate regardless of whether or not you soaked them. The choice is yours.

PLANTING

Before you plant the dill microgreens, you need to prepare the seed trays.

Take the growing tray with holes and fill it just below the brim with the growing medium. Doing so will make it easier to harvest the dill microgreens later. Water the medium thoroughly to make it moist but not soggy. Allow it to sit for a bit to drain in case you accidentally added too much water. Then, spread out the soil, so the surface is flat and doesn’t have any clumps.

Since the seeds are so small, there’s no need to cover them up with more medium as long as they have direct contact with what’s underneath them.

Now it’s time to set the planted seeds aside to give them time to grow. Not every grower uses the same sprouting process, so you can experiment with this next part to see what works the best for your setup.

The sprouting plants will look pale in color, but this is normal since they haven’t received any light yet. Once they have access to sunlight or grow lamps, they’ll develop green leaves in a few days.

Some growers skip the blackout method and allow the seeds to germinate with natural light or under grow lights from the beginning. One of the perks of plants is that there’s never one correct way to make the plants grow, so you can choose whichever one you prefer. If you didn’t get good results the first time you grow dill microgreens, try it a different way the second time.

GROWING

Once your dill microgreen seeds have sprouted and are a few inches tall, it’s time to give them some light. Place them under a grow light so that they’re getting even exposure. Putting the light directly overhead will allow them to grow straight up and not bend over. You can give your plants direct sunlight on a window sill instead if you have enough available to you.

Continue to water the sprouts every day so they stay moist. To make watering easier, place the tray into another tray that doesn’t have holes. Add water to the bottom tray to create a continual watering system. Using a bigger tray to hold the water will be easier since you’ll have room to pour water on the sides. If you find that this method makes the medium soggy, pour out the excess water once it’s sufficiently moistened.

The dill should take 12-15 days from the initial sprout to be ready to harvest. While you’re waiting, continue to keep an eye on their growing conditions to make sure their moisture and light levels are where they need to be.

HARVESTING

Your dill microgreens will be perfect for harvesting between 3-5 inches tall, although a little taller or shorter won’t hurt. However, the taste will change as the microgreens continue to grow.

Harvest them in the morning or evening so the greens won’t be wilted from warm conditions. You may find seed coatings stuck to the leaves, but you can easily pick them off or run your hand over them.

Use a sharp knife, scissors, or garden shears to harvest the microgreens. Cut just above the soil line to prevent picking up any soil while you harvest. If you filled the tray up to just below the top, you can line your knife or scissors up at the rim and use that as a guide of where to cut.