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Perennial

No. 0412 · Anethum graveolens

Saltroad Dill

Crop
Herb
Climate
Cold
Season
Spring
Origin
Saaremaa, Estonia

At risk, kept by 2 growers

No. 0412The variety

A short, blue-leaved dill from a Baltic island, grown for pickling herring and cucumbers along the old salt road.

Grows best inCool coastal summers and sandy soil

Adopt this seed

Seed passport

Perennial Seed Library · Season 2026

No. 0412
Origin
Saaremaa, Estonia
First documented
1936
Days to maturity
40 days for leaf, 90 for seed
Height
60 to 80 cm
Hardiness
Hardy annual
Sun
Full sun
Spacing
Sown thinly and left unthinned
Flavor notes
Sharp, sweet and anise-bright
Pledged open. Free to save and share.Hudson, NY

No. 0412Growth timeline

From sowing to saving seed.

Stage 01 of 06

  1. 01Early spring

    Sow

    Sow shallowly. Many herb seeds need light to germinate, so barely cover them.

  2. 02Day 7 to 14

    Germinate

    Thin the seedlings and keep them evenly moist while they establish.

  3. 0340 days for leaf, 90 for seed

    Harvest

    Pick leaves freely from most plants, but leave your best few to flower.

  4. 04Summer

    Flower

    Flowers bring bees by the hundred. Keep relatives apart if you are saving seed.

  5. 05Late summer

    Seed set

    Seed heads ripen unevenly. Cut them as most of the seed turns brown.

  6. 06Autumn

    Save seed

    Dry the heads in paper bags, rub the seed free and sieve away the chaff.

No. 0412Story

The story of Saltroad Dill

Saltroad Dill grew in the gardens of fishing villages on Saaremaa, where it was cut by the armful for pickling herring and cucumbers. It is short, bushy and blue-green, and it tolerates salt wind that burns taller dills to the ground.

When the island’s farms emptied in the 1950s, it survived in a single family’s garden. Only two growers in the network keep it today, and both live within sight of the sea.

Grown by

2 growers this season

  • Hanne Mortensen

    Jutland, Denmark

  • Pierre-Yves Le Gall

    Finistère, Brittany, France

No. 0412Saltroad DillPERENNIAL SEED LIBRARY

Lending list · Season 2026

Borrow this seed.

Members borrow up to twelve varieties a year. Seed is posted on the first Monday of the month in a hand-numbered paper packet, and all we ask in return is a little of your harvest and a few lines about how it grew.