When I was in design school 20 (!) years ago, the Liu lecture series ran under the headline “Rule Breakers.” The series, going back to 1997, brings established names in design, art and architecture to talk about their careers and show us behind the scenes of their work.

“Rule Breakers” was the theme for the ‘04 - ‘05 school year, and was such a cool name at the time! In one catchy title, it summed up innovation, and outsider-ness, and some of that Gen X counter cultural feeling that Spyke from Portlandia captured so well.

As someone who is almost hard wired to question authority and conventional wisdom, “rule breakers” getting such top billing appealed to me.

On the other hand, there’s a lot to be said for just following advice, as I’ve learned the hard way. Many times. Alas.

Take dill. Like all members of the apiaceae family (including carrots, parsley, fennel, cilantro and asafoetida) it has a tap root. While some of those herbs tolerate transplant ok - parsley especially is fine to transplant - dill really, really doesn’t like it. ALL the seed packs for dill say that direct sowing is recommended.

Knowing that, and trying to be a good rule follower, I direct sowed a bunch of dill seeds earlier this summer.

But then nothing happened!

It’s so much harder to keep seeds watered until germination when you’re not using self-watering seed pots! (<-- which will be on sale next week!) You have to go out and sprinkle the seeds every day, or better yet, mist them twice a day so they never dry out. Who has time for that?!

So I got impatient and reverted to my “rule breaker” state, and impulsively bought a pot of dill seedlings. They looked so fresh and healthy! What could go wrong?

Lolz. You already know.

Here is the purchased dill about 2 weeks after transplant:

Stringy, unhappy, leaves browning and bolting already.

In those intervening 2 weeks, the seeds I sowed finally started growing in the shade of zinnias and chard in the same bed. That shady microclimate must have been what kept the seeds protected and damp enough to germinate.

The direct seeded dill plants are WAY happier and healthier than the plants I bought. So much bushier and more vibrant. (Not to mention cheaper! The seeds were free, collected from a healthy dill plant last year.)

Just as I was taking these pictures, I noticed yet another dill growing in the garden, over by the compost pile.

By far the biggest, healthiest one of all! (I didn’t notice it until it started flowering, but because of its size, it must have had abundant lush leafy growth beforehand.)

So for dill, it seems the best plants are not only direct seeded, but volunteer direct seeded, having spread around willy-nilly and sprouted where they like best.

Maybe it’s the dill itself that’s the “rule breaker,” or at least the contrary one. Garden beds are so OVER. (You gotta watch the Portlandia link to get the joke!)

Seriously though, I wonder a lot about how gardening information is shared amongst people.

For the most part we’re not learning gardening in a formal way, like reading or math or biology or history. We pick it up as we go along from YouTubes, books, various socials, from people we know. Or we learn through the guru method, where we find someone we like and follow what they do.

Without formal structures though, we often come across competing ideas. Dig over the garden every year? Or no till? Grow your veg close together to shade the soil? Or leave space between rows to make weeding easy? Natives are the best choice for pollinators! Or maybe anything with nectar is the best for pollinators! (This native vs. non-native one is particularly heated around here.)

What’s a gardener to do?

Even with something as straightforward as “dill has a tap root and doesn’t transplant well” can be subject to doubt. Especially because I’m sure you’ve found that some of that conventional wisdom to be wrong! (Here’s one: Beets and chard also have tap roots, but I’ve found that I can transplant them just fine.)

How do you decide what rules to follow and which ones to break? Who are your gurus? Do you look for your information in formal places too?

Please hit reply and let me know!

Anne

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When you’re ready, here are some more ways I can help you grow a thriving garden from seed:

1. Plan your seed-starting schedule with our ​free printable planner.​

2. Download the free ​Orta Seed Starting Handbook with all the basics you need to succeed with seeds.​

3. Take the guesswork out of watering with Orta Self-Watering Pots. (Find discounted factory seconds here!)

4. Join the Orta Seed Club to have 5 hand-picked, unusual & high-yielding varieties delivered to you every season.

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