This price hike is a really big dill

The patch of dill in my garden has overtaken the small area where I let it go to seed last year, staking out territory meant for the winter squash that is now competing for space with the leggy, feathery-leaved plants. This complaint about an overabundance of an herb is probably irksome to many of our Australian readers who are facing both shortages and shockingly high prices for many common herbs due to recent flooding in New South Wales.

At one supermarket a bunch of coriander (cilantro) was selling for $11 AUS. Customers are balking at spending more for herbs than for the meat used in their recipes. As one shopper said, “I only got mint, because it seemed too bizarre to spend $14 on herbs when I was getting 500g of organic beef for $11.” These price hikes comes weeks after prices for lettuce also rocketed to astronomical heights.

The drastic rise in costs is exacerbated by other market conditions resulting in inflation across many sectors, but especially in the grocery area. This is pulling shoppers back into gardening mode, which they had picked up to bide their time during the pandemic but had let slip once lockdowns ended. A hit to their pocketbooks made many pick up their spades and watering cans again. Herbs are one of the best plants to grow at home because most of them can be grown in containers and will continuously produce if properly trimmed, fed, and watered.

As for my dill, what I don’t use or give away this summer I will dry for use during the long Minnesota winters. I will probably let a fair amount go to seed so I will have plenty of dill again next year. Happiness is a wild herb garden.