Important steps for a good harvest of Alligator dill: from seed preparation to disease prevention

Dill is one of the most popular types of greens. There is hardly a summer resident who has never grown it. Housewives use almost all parts of this plant for cooking. Its leaves are added to salads and hot dishes, inflorescences are used for winter preparations, and seeds are considered a fragrant seasoning for fish and vegetable dishes.

Breeders have developed many varieties of greenery. They differ in the taste and size of the ground part, the duration of the growing season and some other parameters. Among the most popular varieties of dill is the Alligator. Is this variety attractive only by the name and what gardeners need to consider when growing it - read on.

Description of the variety

Dill Alligator - a variety known to summer residents since 2002... The developer of the culture is the Gavrish agricultural company, well-known in Russia. Its seeds are produced by various producers in all countries of the former CIS.

The variety is characterized by increased cold resistance and is suitable for growing in all regions of the Russian Federation. The alligator is unpretentious in care and produces crops not only in black soil, but also in poorer soils.

The parameters of the variety ensure its popularity among gardeners. Unpretentious greens are distinguished by high yield and excellent taste of leaves.

Characteristics and description of the variety:

1. The leaf rosette is large and raised. The leaves are strongly dissected, green in color, with a bluish undertone. The greens are juicy and dense.
2. The height of the bush reaches 1.5 m.The weight of the green mass, depending on the care, varies between 60-150 g.
3. Plant later. The greens are harvested 45 days after sowing the seeds. Seeds are harvested only after 115 days.
4. The alligator is easy to care for. It is resistant to cold snaps. Able to tolerate frosts down to -6 ° C. Suitable for growing in the open field, in a greenhouse and on a windowsill in all regions of our country.
5. Dill has no immunity to disease.
6. The yield is high. From 1 sq. m receive on average 1.5 kg of greenery.

Alligator greens can be cut multiple times per season. To do this, pinch off all the leaves, except for the top. After a while, new greens will appear on the bushes.

Interesting. In the original, this variety of dill is called Alligator. People often call him the Crocodile.

The variety does not throw out inflorescences for a long time, so the harvest is harvested until late autumn. The only negative is that the older the dill, the harder its leaves.

Alligator advantages and disadvantages

Dill Alligator has a number of advantages:

• cold resistance;
• unpretentious care;
• juiciness, meatiness and rich taste of greens;
• the duration of the harvest;
• high productivity.

The Alligator has no flaws. Farmers who grow dill as a spice (for the sake of seeds) consider the late maturity of the variety a disadvantage.

How to grow

Even a novice gardener can handle the cultivation of dill. These greens are unpretentious in care and resistant to adverse environmental factors.

Dill is grown in a seedless way. Its seeds are sown directly into open ground in autumn or spring. In the first case, the crop will be ready for harvest much earlier.

Dill is also grown in a greenhouse. If the room is heated, the greens are harvested throughout the winter.

Preparation for growing and sowing seeds

Dill seeds need preliminary preparation. This will not only speed up their germination, but also reduce the likelihood of infection of adult plants.

There is a film of essential oils on the dill seeds. It protects seeds from bacteria and slows down the appearance of the first shoots. Before sowing, it is removed.

At home, they get rid of the oil film by soaking the seeds. They are kept in water at room temperature for 2-3 days, changing the liquid every 6 hours.

Council. In the presence of an aquarium compressor, a bubbling procedure is possible. For this, the seeds are placed in warm water with the compressor turned on for a day. During this time, air bubbles will gently remove the oil layer from the sedimentary material.

After soaking, the seeds are disinfected. This is done in one of the following ways:

• 30 minutes in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate;
• 15 minutes in hydrogen peroxide;
• 2 hours in phytosporin;
• 12 hours in a soda solution prepared from 1 tbsp. water and 1 tsp. soda;
• 12 hours in aloe juice, diluted in half with water.

The soil for growing dill is prepared in the fall, regardless of when the seed is sown. To do this, it is dug up and cleaned of plant residues. For every 1 sq. m of soil, 6 kg of humus or manure are applied.

Before sowing seeds, the beds are watered with a solution of copper sulfate. It is prepared by adding 1 tbsp to 10 liters of boiling water. l. vitriol.

Well-lit areas of the garden are chosen for dill. With a lack of light, the greens will turn yellow.

It is not recommended to plant dill in the same place for several years in a row. It is better to grow it in areas of the garden where fruit crops have previously grown.

If dill is sown in winter, then it is done in late October or early November. In the spring, the seeds are placed in the ground as soon as the snow melts.

Alligator seeds are capable of germinating at a temperature of + 3 ° C:

• make grooves 2-3 cm deep at a distance of 10 cm from each other;
• seeds are scattered along the bottom of the depression in one line;
• the grooves are sprinkled with soil (preferably humus or peat), which is lightly tamped;
• the beds are watered with warm settled water;
• the crops are covered with foil until germination.

If the dill was sown in early spring, then in case of severe frosts, it is recommended to cover the beds with foil even after the first shoots appear. This is especially important to do at night.

After the first shoots appear, the vegetation is thinned out. There should be 10-15 cm free between the bushes.

Council. Some gardeners cut the dill bushes completely within 40-45 days after the first shoots appear. They then reseed the beds with this crop. So over the summer it is possible to collect young greens several times.

Watering

Dill is watered 1-3 times a week, depending on how hot the summer is. For 1 sq. m use at least 5 liters of water. It should be warm and settled.

Plants are watered in the morning or at sunset. If this is done when the sun is active, then burns will appear on the leaves, and the risks of developing diseases will increase.

While the plants are still small, the soil is loosened after each watering. This is necessary to destroy the earthen crust, which prevents full root air exchange and contributes to the stagnation of water in the roots. If this is not done, the root system will begin to rot, and fungal infections will receive ideal conditions for development.

Top dressing

The opinions of gardeners about whether it is worth adding top dressing to the dill beds were divided. Some believe that this will help the plants grow as much green mass as possible. Others argue that this is unsafe, as greens accumulate chemicals that have fallen into the ground.

To get a bountiful harvest and avoid the accumulation of harmful substances in dill, special attention is paid to the introduction of organic matter into the beds before sowing seeds. Potash and phosphorus fertilizers are applied during the period of plant growth if symptoms of a lack of such substances appear (yellowing of leaves and loss of turgor).

Soil care

In the first two weeks after the appearance of the first shoots, the dill beds are regularly cleared of weeds.At this stage, harmful plants negatively affect the roots of dill and often lead to a slowdown in its development and death.

When the plants grow up, there is no need for weeding. Dense plantings of dill do not allow weeds to develop.

If in one summer it is planned to sow dill multiple times on the same beds, then the beds are prepared before each new batch. Dill roots remaining after cutting off the ground part are dug out of the ground. The soil is watered with a hot solution of copper sulfate and mixed with a new portion of fertilizer (with repeated application of organic matter, 2-3 kg per 1 sq. M will be enough).

Prevention of diseases and pests

Dill Alligator is susceptible to a number of diseases, but since greens absorb chemicals, it is not recommended to process them with purchased potent agents. To minimize the risk of plant infection, it is important to follow the prevention rules:

1. Disinfection. Pathogens are transmitted through soil, garden tools and planting material. Therefore, they must be treated with disinfecting compounds.
2. Compliance with crop rotation... It is not recommended to plant dill for several years in a row on the beds after any greenery. It grows best after fruit crops.
3. Proper watering... Watering plants with cold water will make their roots more vulnerable. High soil moisture is ideal for fungal infections, and drought will encourage the development of viruses.

Most often, dill affects phomosis, powdery mildew and black leg. When symptoms of these diseases are detected (darkening of the stem, white bloom on the leaves), diseased plants are removed. Healthy ones are sprayed with a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. If this does not help, you will have to pluck out all the dill in the garden and water the soil with copper sulfate. Such beds are not used for the next 2 years for growing dill.

For the prevention of plant damage pests they are sprayed with soapy water (1 piece of laundry soap is rubbed into a bucket of water) or pepper tincture (3 hot peppers chopped in a meat grinder are taken for 5 liters of water).

The peculiarity of growing dill on the windowsill

Dill is grown not only in the garden, but also on the windowsill - throughout the year.

For dill, you need a nutritious soil. To do this, mix in equal proportions garden soil or peat with humus. Add half of the sawdust or sand to the mixture. In the prepared soil, dill does not need additional feeding during the growth period.

The alligator is grown in individual pots (special pots, 0.5 liter disposable cups, plastic mayonnaise buckets) or in a common spacious container (wooden boxes, plastic trays).

To grow dill on a windowsill, you will also need drainage. Use any small pebbles, shell rock and broken ceramics.

The soil and drainage are disinfected. They are calcined in the oven or poured with boiling water. The containers are soaked for half an hour in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.

3-4 seeds are sown in individual pots. In the boxes, grooves are made 3 cm deep at a distance of 5 cm from each other. Seeds are poured into them. After the first shoots appear, the dill is thinned out. A distance of at least 10 cm is left between the plants.

In summer, dill grown on the windowsill will have enough sunlight. In autumn and winter, it is advisable to additionally illuminate the plants with fluorescent lamps. Otherwise, the greens will turn out yellowish.

There is no point in waiting for the seeds to appear in pots. Plants are completely cut as soon as they gain green mass.

note! Late varieties of dill are best suited for growing on a windowsill. This includes the Alligator.

Reviews of gardeners

Reviews of gardeners about Alligator dill are mostly positive. The variety is characterized by unpretentious care and cold resistance with high yields.

Valentina, Tula: “I grow alligators all year round.In winter on the windowsill, in summer, spring and autumn - at the dacha. Very unpretentious, I do not get sick, it grows almost independently. I water it only once a week. The bushes are fluffy and large, as in the photo. I cut them completely when young, and then sow new ones. I leave the first few plants for seeds, which I use for planting and as a seasoning. "

Valery, Dnipro: “I have been planting an alligator for several years now. Excellent high-yielding dill. Requires minimal care, rarely gets sick. "

Read also:

An effective remedy for facial beauty: dill.

What helps a decoction of dill, how to cook and use it correctly.

Effective dill treatment for urinary incontinence: folk recipes and dosage regimen.

Conclusion

Dill Alligator is distinguished by its beautiful dark green greens with a bluish bloom and a rich aroma. For a long time, it does not throw out the inflorescence, which allows you to get tasty greens until the end of summer. It's easy to grow a variety. It is cold-resistant and unpretentious in care.