Fennel Facts!!

[Worth1]

Help me out here, I have never grown fennel before and I bought a pack of bulbing fennel seeds yesterday.
What to expect and what to do would be nice.

[clkeiper]

it tastes like licorice. give it plenty of room. it reseeds readily. I have grown the bronze and it gets to about 6' tall.

[Worth1]

I used to pick and eat it wild in California to everyone's dismay.
Got home so late last night I didn't wet the seeds as I should have.
Fertilizer requirements if any?

[oakley]

Reseeds? I'm obviously doing something wrong. Maybe not giving it a chance to reseed.
I have it started indoors with dozens of other oddities right now.

I plant in a bed with dill, parsley, par-cel, cumin,...next to my big basil bed. I'll move one
to my 'come again' bed with sage and tarragon. (the bed I don't winter cover, just mulch
in the Fall and again Spring.)

I have a stack of old red cups I no longer use for tomatoes that I cut around their middle,
label, push into the bed, then plant with some soaked direct seed as well. I can mulch
right up to the red cup edges. (I can get up, spin around, and totally forget what I've
just planted minutes before, )

Cilantro is another I just can't crack the code. Grow it all winter indoors but outside it
just bolts...even the 'slow bolt' variety. Fortunately it is just 50cents at the market.

[roper2008]

If it’s anything like bronze fennel, I don’t do anything special. Just put it in the soil, and water. I have noticed it’s similar to parsley in the fact that it is slow to germinate. Maybe soaking would help.

[bower]

My SIL once made us a salad of arugula with fennel shavings on top.... First time I really liked fennel, the combination of tastes is so perfect.



I have yet to succeed in growing it. I think we need the right kind of year for that, no guarantees of fennel in this climate - although I've seen some nice ones at my friend's farm.

[KarenO]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

it tastes like licorice. give it plenty of room. it reseeds readily. I have grown the bronze and it gets to about 6' tall.

Bronze fennel ( non bulbing) and Florence Fennel ( bulbing) are quite different.


https://www.growveg.com/guides/how-to-grow-bulb-fennel/

The main thing to remember is that if you want bulbs vs it bolting to bloom it needs to be kept watered and not allowed to dry out. Some varieties are more resistant to bolting. Shade may help in a hot garden.
I like to use the feathery leaves like fresh dill also.
KarenO

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by KarenO

Bronze fennel ( non bulbing) and Florence Fennel ( bulbing) are quite different.


https://www.growveg.com/guides/how-to-grow-bulb-fennel/

The main thing to remember is that if you want bulbs vs it bolting to bloom it needs to be kept watered and not allowed to dry out. Some varieties are more resistant to bolting. Shade may help in a hot garden.
I like to use the feathery leaves like fresh dill also.
KarenO

Thanks I have it on drip so no problem keeping it moist.

[rxkeith]

fennel isn't that hard to grow.
getting it to bulb size has always been a problem for me.
i get nice stalks, feathery fronds, just not big bulbs. maybe i grew them
too close together.
keep in mind there are two basic types of fennel. one will form a bulb.
the other growth type does not form bulbs.
give a little fertilizer, not a lot.
swallow tail butterflies really, really like fennel. caterpillars will be almost the same
color green as the stalks. you will notice them by their black and yellow spots.
i saw that you do not want to save seeds from fennel if you are also
growing dill. they can cross pollinate, and give you funny tasting seeds
in the event you want to use them in cooking.



keith

[pmcgrady]

A really nice patch of re seeding dill is my goal this season.

[salix]

Karen is right, keep it watered (your drip system should suit it very well). One of life's pleasures in the garden is the liquorice smell of fennel on a hot afternoon...

Watch for aphids, also.

[ilex]

I'm selecting bulbing fennel for being perennial and slow to bolt. There are few easier crops. Note we have wild fennel, so it feels at home.

Last year I decided on bronze fennel instead of Florence (bulb) and our winter was so mild it’s still growing. I already let cilantro, dill, basil, arugula, nasturtiums and borage seed around the fruit trees so letting fennel go is no big deal. The more the merrier for the pollinators!

I think I’ll start some bulbing fennel too; I have seed to use up. Yes, it’s a bit slow to germinate.

Arugula and fennel salad is the best.

[Worth1]

Dill X Fennel = funny tasting.
How funny and what like?
Sounds interesting.

[GrowingCoastal]

Originally Posted by salix

Karen is right, keep it watered (your drip system should suit it very well). One of life's pleasures in the garden is the liquorice smell of fennel on a hot afternoon...

Watch for aphids, also.

It's funny that I cannot grow dill here without it getting aphids but the bronze fennel never gets aphids and always attracts many pollinators. A neighbour grows dill with no problems. I gave up.