Topic: Florence Fennel

[Doris_Pinks]

And to tag on to EJ's threads, can this stay in the ground and use as required, or do I have to pick it all before the frosts? (Was thinking of protecting it with straw?) It is the first year I have grown it with sucess! ;D  DP

[cleo]

Hi DP-now those I would lift,and eat before the worst of the winter. If you twist the bulbs out rather than digging them you may get re-growth next spring-they will never bulb up the same way but might give some stem and leaf for the stock pot.

Stephan

[aquilegia]

And the flower heads attract bees and hoverflies and the seeds are edible too (they are supposed to be a good aid to digestion).

[derbex]

My last set have just bolted  >:( I seem to do better with the earlier sowings.

Jeremy

[cleo]

That does happen-try a variety called `Rudy`-it`s the best one I know for holding.

Stephan

[Doris_Pinks]

My earlier sowings bolted, later ones doing fine! Thanks for the advice y'all! ;D

[tim]

Best ever year for fennel - module sown - it'll be eaten before the frosts! = Tim

[BAGGY]

Is this difficult stuff to grow then ?  I have only had my lottie since Sept 2003 and this was my first year for fennel.  It has come up a treat.  Can someone let me know what I did right as, to be honest, I just plonked it in and waited.  All of it came out ok. (that's not to say I haven't had my fair share of total disasters - mice scoffing the peas, pigeons eating cabbage.  You know I'm sure they look out for the newbies on the plot and spread the word !)

[Multiveg]

Harvested one fennel yesterday - there are another couple of decent looking plants in the plot (they look better than my brussels).

[greenfinger kids]

I love fennel, haven't had time to plant any though yet.
My name is also Florence! How ironic!
Me and my friend Faye are new around here.
This site looks great! :)

[derbex]

Hi Florence, give it a go, just a few seeds at a time and you'll get something, sometime.

I was a bit premature saying it had bolted, what had gone was one of the 'follow on's' from the first batch. Bit's are still useable if you don't need the whole bulb, we poached some fish with it and white wiene and chicken stock -yum.

Jeremy