No, the flowers can be used now, as well as the fern leaves. The flowers remain about 2 weeks and then form tiny green balls that are the green dill seeds. These eventually mature into the dark tan color flat dill seeds you see. I like using the green ball seed stage as they are stll tender enough to release plenty of flavor and also hold onto their stem clusters. My biggest mammoth dill plant now as single 'seed head' masuring OVER foot around!! Cukes, not ready yet, but the dill will eventually all be at that green seed stage in less than a month. My dill was the leftovers from last summers plants that dropped dill seeds and survived a winter. I started to see the new dill ferns about mid April here and there. Space wise, the mammoth dill is a far better choice for the leaves and huge heads. The fern leaf dill type nearby is barely 2 feet tall, and takes up valuable space, but will also sprout next year if I allow seeds to fall into the soil.

Ken, do you save your dill heads until the cukes are ready? Freeze? dry? let 'em grow??
I usually end up tossing some in the freezer to wait for the cukes, but I'm just wondering if you have a better way?

The dill will be beyond it's best by the time cukes are ready.

Deanna

Actaully this year its a race for me as to which will be 'pickable', The dill is fast becoming seed heads and I have planted more areas, but the cukes are still very tiny. Freezing with break down the fibers of dill an then go limp. Picked a week or more then placed in a glass of water indoors, will help halt seed ripening a bit further. Just like any flowers they do lose some aroma. A major reason I use for dill pickles is because I also have dill pickle mixes (Ball, Mrs. Wages) and these go great with a much stronger and bolder taste, even if its a half sour or fermented dill cuke. If I have LOTS of dill left outside, it simply just drops its seeds and sprouts the following year after year. Two years ago, I took off all the dill weed ferns and these were placed in a dehydrator for about two days to dry them to a crisp product. The dried dill weed I have now is 2 years aold, and dare anyone to tray and and compare its two years old to some dried last week. I used the FOOD SAVER vacuum attachment that surrounds a Ball jars top glass bead. A common canning lid is placed on, then the FS attachment and then a pump down to a strong vacuum (used my own vacuum pump!). The end result is a dry bright green and very aromatic dill weed. Dumped a bunch in potato salad last night too!

Thanks.
I don't have a problem with 'limp' dill in pickles. As long as the flavor is there! I've done the water in a glass thing, but the timing is really off for me this year.

Dill is flowering now and cukes are still weeks away!

Sigh. Such is gardening!! :+)

Deanna

About all you can do is to wait for good old mother nature. Dill hangs on quite well even after te yellow flowers leave. If they reach green pod stage they can be cut and put in water indoors. All dill will go limp once in a brine of any kind. But do don't want the cukes to be limp. Pick, pack, and jar all within a few hours is the best way to can them.

Yep. I know the pick & pack routine!! It's just the darned dill vs. cuke timing.

Gardening is a humbling adventure and sure shows us who's in control.......and "it ain't me!" LOL

Deanna

Plan to place the fresh and mature dill seed heads on water now, as the cukes are still not budging yet. I also gave the cukes a good dose of kelp extract, to help them get their roots (or stems?) in high gear. I expect all of this may affect the first few cukes off the plants, as to bitter taste. Usually, that seems to be a minor issue once they start getting more flowers and cukes in the next month.

Why not make an infused dill vinegar that can be used in your pickles? I'm sure you'd still want some fresh or dried for the pickles themselves, but a dill vinegar would add a nice flavor boost and be useful for lots of other recipes as well.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Make Flavored Vinegars

I'm like Ken, I like to use the green, swollen seed heads. These will keep seemingly forever in a ziplock bag in the fridge. I go out with a bucket and scissors, and snip off all that are ready, pop them in the bag, and into the fridge. Rinse them off when I'm ready to make the pickles.

Sort of like keeping garlic scapes. I still have a bag full, and they're over 2 months old. Getting to the point that they need the ends snipped off......

Great ideas Carol and David. Thanks.

I'll be trying both!!

I don't know why I didn't think of the brine/vinegar thing.
I make small batches of pickles by keeping a half gallon of brine mixed up in the fridge. I can pick what I have, add the fresh dill and garlic and only heat a small amount of brine to pour over them. I don't process these, they are kept refrigerated. Should have thought to put the dill and garlic right in the brine too.

Also just keeping in the fridge. DUH!!!! (that's for me, not you David!) :+)
I refrigerate all my other veggies, why not dill. Seems so silly now to have not thought of it.

Maybe I just need LOTS more coffee.........

Deanna

My scapes went right into jars with dill and vinegar. I also have a couple from last year. The Music garlic I grew was bigger that the 'super collosal' bulbs at the local supermarket. They do LOVE bone meal in each hole/trench they get planted in. I wil have to pick a lot of the dill seed heads tonight, as some are now shrinking and have lost the green swell. Darn cukes. I will be really aggessivly looking for even a single mature one. The heat outside is 97 degrees right now. A few of the cuke plants have huge leaves, and I am a bit suspicious that they might be regular sized ones, but I'm not sure yet.

How long does dill flower heads stay in the green swollen stage? I've heard it's best to use them at this stage for pickles and we're at the yellow flower stage right now, and I understand that the yellow flower stage can last about 2 wks, but how long do the flower heads stay at the green swollen stage?