"Growing Fennel"

Growing fennel in your garden is a must for all food lovers. The fennel herb can be added to all sorts of dishes and the fennel bulb can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

Fennel seed is normally fairly easy to get going and apart from earthing the bulbs up later in the year if you want to develop the root as a vegetable, fennel is fairly easy to maintain.

Plants can grow to over 2metres tall, so they should be positioned at the back of a herb bed.

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Growing fennel in the US with Thompson and Morgan. They have a vast selection of quality seeds. Growing fennel in the US and in the UK Growing fennel in the UK and for all other countries start from their homepage Thompson and Morgan Worldwide

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Planting fennel: Seed can be started early in the year in well drained trays or pots of fresh compost. Keep warm and watered until the seedlings are large enough to handle.Then transplant to their permanent positions in the garden.

Choose a sunny spot but behind any lower growing plants so that the fennel plnats dont overshadow them. Dig over the ground first before planting. Remove any perennial weeds and turn well to break up the soil. Rake over and transplant your fennel plants. Fennel can be started in degradable pots to avoid damaging the roots when transplanting as the whole pot is planted. Allow about 12 inches (30cm) of growing space per plant.

If you are growing fennel for the bulb dig the ground fairly deep so the plant has enough depth to develop strong roots.

Seeds can be started outside, but not until all danger of frost has passed and its adviosable to cover the seed bed and seedlings overnight until the plants are stronger and the ground is warmer. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, thin to around 12 inches apart. Try to thin out the weakest plants leaving the strongest to grow on. The plants that you pull out could be re-planted, although care should be taken not to damage the roots.

Fennel shouldnt be waterlogged but needs to be watered regularly in long dry periods.

When the bulb is about the size of a tennis ball, earth up your plants by raking the earth up carefully around them. The fennel bulbs will tolerate cold nights and can be left in the ground well into autumn and perhaps some of the winter.

The bulbs and leaves are always best eaten fresh, although the leaves can be dried and stored in glass jars. Remember to label the jars.

You can find more about growing vegetables and herbs and even a few recipe ideas in my book recently published with Findhorn Press. Click on this link Grow Your Own Pharmacy to take you to the page where you can read more about the book. You really can grow enough fruit and veg to keep your family glowing with good health!

Happy Gardening!

Herb Gardening: Herbs are becoming recognised more and more as superfoods, as if we didn't know that really! 'Herb Gardening' has been beautifully put together by the publisher (Crowood Press) into a well presented book with full colour photos.

You'll also find gardening advice as well as some ideas on planning a herb garden. Order it now direct from the publisher... Herb Gardening

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