Fennel Herb Seeds

Overview

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) has lovely fluffy plumes of soft green leaves and produces large flat umbels of yellow star like flowers, followed by edible seeds. It is a very attractive plant that looks fantastic in the garden borders as well as the veg plot and is great for beneficial insects too.

Fennel seeds and leaves can be used for culinary purposes. They have a sweet but delicate aniseed/licorice flavour that counteracts the oiliness of fish beautifully and adds extra flavour to salads as well. The seeds are lovely in bread & stews. (This variety is not to be confused with 'Florence Fennel' which is grown for it's white bulb).

It should not be grown near dill as they can cross-pollinate and give inferior plants or coriander as it alters fennel's flavour. It grows to between 60-120cm and has a spread of 45cm.

It is a perennial plant that should be cut down in spring to encourage the new shoots to emerge. It is better to replace fennel plants every 3-4 years as they begin to lose their 'oomph' with age.

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Seed qty (approx)	460
Sowing months	March, April, August, September
Site conditions	Prefers sunny, well-drained & fertile soil.
How to sow	Sow seeds in a seed tray or modules in fine compost, and cover with 12mm of fine compost. Keep at a temperature of 20°C. Germination takes 7-10 days. Transplant seedlings to small pots and when large enough plant in the final position in garden or container. Plant herbs every 30cm in rows 45cm apart. Alternatively direct sow seed thinly in a drill 12mm deep, in rows 45cm apart. Germination takes 14-20 days. Thin out seedlings to every 30cm.
Care	Cut down fennel in June if you don't want it to go to seed and it will grow again giving good tasting foliage for longer. Fennel self sows very easily so if you don't want lots of little seedlings make sure all the flowers are removed before going to seed.
Harvest	8-10 weeks from sowing. It is productive for 3 months if regularly snipped and will be productive for longer if it is cut down in June (see above notes). As a perennial it will be ready to harvest from early spring.
Information	N/A

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