By 
Gardening Tip of the Day
Dill isn’t only a beautiful plant to grow in the garden, it is very helpful in many ways. According to Agro Review dill attracts beneficial insects, is a deterrent for pests, and is a supporter for the soil.
Dill is easy to grow, requires very little maintenance, and thrives in full sun. Dill should be planted in various places around the garden, not in one bed. When scattered around the garden it can aid in preventing many pests from entering the garden. The yellow flowering dill heads will also attract all types of bees, wasps, predatory flies, and other pollinators.
Dill attracts hoverflies which serve as pollinators, but they also eat aphids.
Dill also attracts the predator wasps which naturally control the corn earworm.
When dill is planted close to cucumber plants, dill protects them from downy mildew and repels cucumber beetles. It is also said that dill improves the flavor of the cucumbers.
Dill planted close to tomatoes protects the plants against late blight. Just plant it a couple of feet away since it can also slow the growth of tomato plants.
Dill is a major source of food for the large green, black and yellow striped caterpillar which turns into the beautiful black swallowtail butterfly.
A small area of dill can serve as a catch crop for tomato hornworms and aphids.
The strong scent of dill can attract cabbage butterflies away from the brassica plants of broccoli, kale, cabbage, kohlrabi and cauliflower.
Dill can help reduce the amount of squash bugs that are the detriment of squash and pumpkins.
Dill also has a deep taproot that breaks up compacted soil and brings up nutrients from deep in the soil to the surface for other plants to use. Plant dill in areas where other plants do not grow well. It will help to improve the soil so other plants can be planted in future years.
Click here for a great assortment of dill seeds at Amazon.
Author Marilyn Pokorney
Copyright Marilyn Pokorney 2026
