Fennel - Florence

DESCRIPTION

Fennel is a wonderfully aromatic vegetable, closely related to dill and aniseed. It grows through the autumn, before dying down in the winter, and re-sprouting in time to harvest in spring.

POT CARE AND PLANTING

Fennel is ok for growing in pots, but does better in the ground - transplant into a larger pot or a garden bed within 7 days. Soil level should be up to 5mm above the start of the lowest leaves. Be careful not to overwater if it’s in a pot.

WATERING

Fennel is a light water consumer once it gets going - you can water it less than other things in your garden, once per day (early morning or late afternoon is best in summer). It will become more pungent and want to flower during hot weather - but keep watering if you want to encourage prolific seeds.

SUN EXPOSURE

Fennel needs as much sun as possible to flourish, so I recommend planting it in an open and sunny spot in the garden.

COMPANION PLANTING

This plant gets fairly big - at first it’ll reach up to 1m tall, but during the summer the height of the plant will double, if you’re keeping it for seed. Plants that don't appreciate the company of fennel are others in the same family, like parsley, dill, and carrots - as well as solanums and legumes, whose growth can be affected. During summer fennel produces some of the best flowers for attracting and feeding beneficial insects. Great for repelling biting insects like fleas, flies and ants from garden areas.

HARVESTING AND EATING

Fennel is best when harvested after it’s been “blanched” in spring - heap soil around the entire rounded base of the stems as the plant starts to re-sprout, to prevent sunlight from reaching the bulb as it grows up to the size of a tennis ball. It’s best to harvest it by using something sharp to cut the plant off at the base, leaving the roots behind - this gives it the opportunity to produce a few more miniature bulbs, which you can either eat, or allow to flower and set seed later in the year.
Fennel has a pungent flavour when raw - use the flowers and leaves as garnishes or potherbs, or add super thin slices of the raw bulb to salads for a fresh, aniseed-flavoured, celery-like crunch. A favourite in Italian cuisine, it becomes more mellow and incredibly sweet when cooked - roast chunks of the bulb, or slice finely and sauté slowly to caramelise, before eating it as a side or adding it to soups and sauces. You can also use the seeds as a spice after harvesting them later in the season. Fennel is high in dietary fibre, potassium, and vitamin C, and pairs well with seafood, chicken, and pork.

SEED SAVING AND PROPAGATION

If you leave the roots of the plant in the ground until summer next year, it will produce flowers. The fennel flower is a distinctive shape called an umbel - the large flat discs of tiny flowers are loved by insects. Some of the most beautiful and beneficial flowers in the garden, it's highly recommended to leave a few to help feed the bees and butterflies and encourage them to stick around and pollinate next season's vegetables. They'll take a while to finish their life cycle, but when you see that the umbels are starting to get brown, cut them off and dry them whole in a paper bag. Shake and crunch the umbels to break up the dried seed clusters and discard the larger pieces of material - these seeds will be good for 3-4 years. Save some your fennel seeds in something airtight, until sowing time in early autumn - I recommend keeping the rest in an old spice jar in the kitchen.