NEW! Fennel
NEW FOR 2024!
Fennel - 90 days
Foeniculum vulgare
Fennel is a multi-purpose plant. You can eat the young leaves, harvest the bulbs and use the seed to flavor a whole slew of dishes. It can grow as a perennial in warm climates and can produce seed in the first or second year. You can harvest some and let others make seed for the spice.
I use fennel leaves in salads and as a topper for soups and stews and I always us fennel bulb in my spaghetti sauce, to sweeten the sauce without sugar. (Add some Kinko 6" Carrot to the sauce as well - no sugar needed!)
In the mountains, we find that direct seeding gives excellent results and Fennel prefers this way too. Sow 1/2" deep and keep them evenly moist through germination. They can take 1-2 weeks to germinate.