Dill plants benefit from repeat harvests, regenerating new growth for fuller, bushier plants. Start harvesting when plants are 5 to 6 inches tall with four or five sets of fronds. Harvest dill seeds for pickling when they are bright green. Dill (Anethum graveolens) is a full-flavored, annual herb that completes its life cycle in one season. Harvesting equates to pruning, which means more growth and a full, bushy habit. Done correctly, you'll enjoy dill for fresh use throughout the growing season. Leaves, flowers, and seeds are all edible. Find out how and when to harvest each part of the plant, along with tips for preserving and storing dill for use over winter. When to Harvest Dill Start harvesting dill fronds when plants reach 5 to 6 inches tall with four or five leaf-bearing stems. This herb grows rapidly, so you can start snipping fairly early in the growing season. For best flavor and moisture content, plan your trip to the herb garden in mid-morning, just after dew has dried but before the heat of the day sets in. Repeat harvests generate new growth to extend the plant's life cycle. Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more! How to Harvest Dill Dill features upright, branching growth with delicate, alternate, fern-like leaves or fronds. Harvested correctly, plants regenerate, putting out more stems and leaves. Use a small snipper to avoid bruising or stripping stems. Here's what to do. Select a plant with four or five fronds, Use your snipper to make a sharp cut across the leaf stem just above the growth point on the main stem. Look for tips of new fronds starting to emerge along a central stem to locate the right spot. Continue harvesting additional leaves and stems with this method, but remove no more than one-third of the leaves at each cutting. The first few harvests will be small, but the amounts increase as the dill plant puts out new growth. Dill flowers and seeds Depending on the variety, dill generates flowers between 45 and 70 days. Once flowers appear, plants cease to put out green growth, signaling the end of the annual life cycle. Hot, dry weather stimulates early flowering, so gardeners in these climates should succession plant for better harvests. How to Harvest Dill Seeds Once flowers open, flavor concentrates at the top of the stems. Seeds form one to two weeks after flowers appear. For pickling use, harvest heads when seeds are bright green. Yellow seeds aren't quite ready, while brown or black seeds indicate flavor and moisture loss. Cut stems just below the heads and store them whole in plastic bags in the refrigerator or freezer. Fresh dill seeds retain the best flavor for pickling. To harvest seeds for saving, wait until they turn brown or black on the plant. Cut stems just below the heads, tie them together, and place or hang them upside down in a paper bag. Once they're completely dry, shake the bag to separate seeds and stems. Harvest leaves with flower heads After dill flowers, leafy growth ceases so this is a good time to harvest most of the remaining usable leaves on your plant. Tips for Storing Dill Freezing fresh dill is often recommended as a better method for storing, however, it depends on your taste and preference. Freezing preserves color and holds flavor longer. Drying initially concentrates on a spicier flavor with less green taste. Wash dill, run it through a salad spinner, and allow it to dry before storing. Wrap clean, fresh dill stems in a moist paper towel or place leaves in a plastic bag. Keep them in the refrigerator crisper drawer for up to two weeks. Leaves can be dried in a low oven or dehydrator. Or tie several stems together and hang them in a dry location out of direct sunlight. Store fresh leaves and seeds for pickling in plastic bags in the freezer for up to 12 months. Expect some flavor loss after six months. Store dried leaves and saved seeds in glass bottles or jars in a cool, dark cupboard. Seeds remain viable for three to five years. Dried leaves lose their green flavor initially, but can be kept for several years.

If you enjoy growing fresh herbs, then try adding apple mint (Mentha suaveolens) to your garden. This easy-to-grow perennial may become a new favorite for cool drinks, sweet additions to your dishes, and much more. Learn more about growing and caring for apple mint. About Apple Mint A member of the mint family, apple mint is an upright, herbaceous perennial herb often used as a ground cover. Hardy in USDA zones 5-9, apple mint spreads rapidly through rhizomes and can become invasive. If ingested, the leaves and stems are toxic to cats, dogs, and horses.1 Apple mint grows to two feet tall with large (2-inches long) light green, slightly hairy leaves and produces terminal spikes of small pink or white flowers in the summer that attract pollinators. The leaves have a milder mint flavor than some varieties with a light fruity hint of apple. Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best-growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more! How to Care for Apple Mint Once established, apple mint is easy to grow by following these guidelines. Light In cooler growing areas, apple mint grows best in full sun. In areas of high temperatures, it needs some afternoon shade to protect the leaves from burning. When grown in shade, apple mint will become leggy and flop over. Soil The plant prefers well-draining, rich soil with a slightly acidic to neutral pH but can adapt to most soil types. Water To produce fresh, tender leaves, apple mint requires regular watering and consistently moist soil. Fertilizer If apple mint is planted in poor soil, the plants should be fertilized about once per month (every 4 to 6 weeks) during the growing season. Container-grown apple mint will benefit from feeding with a water-soluble, balanced, all-purpose fertilizer (10-10-10 NPK) throughout the growing season, starting in spring when the plants emerge. Propagating Apple mint can be propagated by taking cuttings and rooting them in water. Take the cuttings in late spring to early summer when the plant is actively growing and before it has bloomed. Snip a stem that is four to six inches long and strip off the leaves from the lower half of the stem. Put the cutting in a container of water placed in an area with bright, indirect sunlight. Change the water every few days until the roots grow about two inches long. Plant in moist potting soil and keep it watered for three weeks until the roots are strong enough to transplant to the garden or a larger container. Why Apple Mint Makes a Great Companion Plant Like most mint plants, the menthol in the leaves of apple mint repels many insects making it a good companion plant for the garden. According to the University of Georgia Extension, mint repels cabbage moths, ants, mice, and fleas and is not inviting to deer.2 However, because mint spreads rapidly, the University suggests planting it in containers and placing them throughout the garden. How to Harvest and Use Apple Mint To keep apple mint plants thriving and producing more growth, cut a stem around four inches long rather than plucking individual leaves. Make your cut just above a pair of leaves to keep the plant bushier. By cutting the stem the plant will produce more stems and leaves. The most tender and tastiest leaves are at the tips. Harvest mint in the morning when the essential oils in the foliage are at their most potent. Regular harvesting is important for good-tasting apple mint. Once the plant produces flowers or goes to seed, the leaves can have a bitter note. How to Use Apple Mint Apple mint leaves can be eaten fresh in salads, brewed in hot water for tea, or added as a garnish to cool drinks. The leaves should be stored in the refrigerator. Loosely wrap the leaves in a damp paper towel and place them inside a perforated plastic bag to keep them fresh for 7 to 10 days. The leaves can also be frozen or dried. To freeze, rough-chop the leaves and pack them into ice cube trays. Add just enough water to act as a binder between the leaves, then freeze. Once solid, remove the mint ice cubes from the tray and put them in a freezer storage bag to use for drinks. To dry the apple mint leaves, use a dehydrator or hang the mint plants to air-dry. Crumble the leaves and store them in an air-tight glass container.

Cherry trees are surprisingly easy to grow for a home gardener and lovely trees to have as ornamental plants. In summer, your reward is the glistening, dark red fruits forming in clusters on long stalks. The fruit is sweet, firm, and ready to eat straight off the tree or harvested and baked into a cherry pie. In this article, gardening expert Wendy Moulton gives you tips on growing ‘Lapins’ cherry trees! Cherry blossoms on a spring day are a beautiful sight in any garden. The ‘Lapins’ cherry tree is ideal for its flowers, sweet fruit, and autumn foliage. Trim it for a compact tree that’s perfect for small gardens. Unlike many fruit trees, it’s self-pollinating. You only need one to grow delicious fruit! ‘Lapins’ cherries make excellent medium-sized trees for pots and containers, too. In this article, we break down the necessary planting and care notes. Then, all you need is the tree! What Is It? Prunus avium ‘Lapins’ is a hybrid cherry developed to increase the number of self-fertile hybrids on the market. It was named for and developed by Karlis Lapins, an immigrant from Latvia. While working at the Summerland Research Center in British Columbia, Canada, he developed the cherry into a late-maturing cross of ‘Van’, a hardy variety and prolific bearer of fruit, and ‘Stella,’ a cultivar used as a universal pollinator of other cherry trees. It was developed in 1971, but only released in 1983 after Lapins’ retirement. The tree, named in his honor, is more productive than many other commercial cultivars. Native Area Prunus avium, often called wild cherry, sweet cherry, or bird cherry, originated in Europe, Asia, and North Africa and became naturalized in North America. The ‘Lapins’ cherry was developed in an agricultural research center in British Columbia. You can also find it under the label ‘Cherokee’. Characteristics ‘Lapins’ is a vigorous grower and a productive tree that makes sweet, even-colored red cherries immune to splitting. The fruit has a mild, sweet taste that is good for fresh eating and cooking for jams and sauces. At the height of the harvesting season, the trees can produce 15-20 gallons of fruit. In spring, it further enhances the garden with fragrant white blossoms. This cherry was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Award of Garden Merit, one of only eight cultivars of cherries that have had the honor for their hardiness and general excellence in a fruit tree. This low-maintenance plant tolerates temperatures to -10°F (-23°C), and is considered hardy, and once established, is quite drought-tolerant. This tree is self-pollinating and doesn’t require any other cherry trees to set fruit. However, more than one cherry tree will increase yields. Planting Set your cherry trees into the garden in either autumn to set it up before spring or in spring to get a harvest the following season. Choose a position with enough space for the cherry to grow. It will grow up to 40 feet high if it is not pruned down to keep it compact, but in general, it will grow 15-20 feet high with a spread of 10-15 feet wide. Make sure that there are no other competing trees or buildings that will confine the space. The fruit will need sunlight in all parts of the tree to produce the best fruit. Dig a hole at least twice the width and at the same depth as the root ball. Enrich the dug-out soil with a load of compost mixed in. Plant the tree so the graft union is 2-3 inches above the soil and backfill with the enriched soil. As you add the soil, press the soil firmly down to remove any air pockets. This helps prevent any bacterial infections from getting to the roots. Make a basin around the tree to help direct water to the roots where needed most. Give the tree a good watering after planting before adding a layer of mulch to the area, making sure not to touch the tree trunk, which could cause infections.