Hi I bought some nice fennel seeds from Heirloom seeds about a year ago and would like to plant them but I really have no idea when to start them from seed and or transplant them in my garden for zone 8. I know fennel grows better if it gets a little colder than if it is hot and humid so have any of you grown fennel sussesfully? I am looking to grow the fennel more for the bulbs than the foliage so what would be the best method to get big bulbs?
When to grow fennel in zone 8.
I started a row of seeds at the same time as lettuce, early spring. Exactly one germinated. It seems to be doing fine, but that's all I can tell you :). I will be planting more for fall....
catmad when are you going to plant them for fall? I remember a long time ago I planted some but they hardly produced any bulbs because it just got too hot.
Okay, you've made me think. Usually I start things in july to plant out in August, but I don;t know if I should do that with fennel, or just direct seed, but when??
I'll get back to you....
catmad I decided to start some seeds yesterday inside the house, I know from everything I read online, fennel does not like the heat so hopefully by the time it starts bulbing out it wont be so extremely hot outside, I have tons of seeds that I bought from rareseeds so worst case scenario I might have to replant some seeds later in the season. I love rare seeds but I wish they had better instructions on when to plant seeds and transplant seeds in diferent areas.
So fennel bulbs are known to do poorly in the heat?
Ahah... that explains a lot!
Thanks!!
Maybe I should pull my lonely little bulb....
All I know is I tried growing fennel about 5 years ago, then the heat came and instead of bulbing up I ended up with lots of green and hardly no bulb at all. I love fennel so I wanted to give it a try this year and I have been searching online and it does mention that fennel bolts when it gets really hot. http://www.indepthinfo.com/fennel/grow.htm
I am thinking either you have to grow it early in the season, probably start it indoors and transplant outdoor when frost has passed or maybe grow it as a fall crop and just cover it if in case a frost comes your way.
Picking today. Thanks!!
I grew it for the seed until it tried to take over my garden. :) I swear that I was puling fennel roots for months. Mine didn't bulb either.
There are more than one kind of fennel. First you have to be sure the seeds that you are sowing are of the type that forms a bulb, as not all kinds of fennel result in a bulb.
Sometimes the bulbing type of fennel is referred as the "onion-fennel"...such as on this website of Seeds of Change:
http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_center/product_details.aspx?item_no=PS21723
Yes, Evelyn is correct. Not all fennels "bulb".
In this zone, mine stays in ground as a perennial. I divide it and on occasion, the butterfly cats prune it for me. It always comes back. If you cut off the blooms, it will not reseed. On the other hand, fennel seed is commonly used in cooking.
Thanks evelyn, mine I bought from rareseeds, it is called di firence and it is suppose to get large bulbs. I never really tried fennel before until I bought it at the store to try a recipe and since then I really like it, to me it has a really nice licorice flavor and it is refreshing as well, the only problem is that it is one of those veggies that are very expensive in the store so if I can grow it and it grows well I might as well give it a try.
It is time now to plant FENNEL seeds in zone 8.
I am starting them indoors because I have not room right now outside. Lots of eggplants and peppers still giving me lots of fruits.
Fennel love the cold weather, but be prepared to cover if it will get really cold.
drthor, I have some seedling under grow lights I guess I started them a lot earlier since I did not know about the right time to start the seeds, my plant is to transplant them out hopefully in Oct and then start some more seeds in case this first batch bolt on me.
I thkn you did right actually. They lov eto be estabilished before the first freeze.
I did cover mine last year to protect them from the coldest winter ever.
Keep posting
I started my fennel in autumn (fall to you) and it's now spring and they're hearting up well. My friend has fennel still growing from last year so heat is not a problem but humidity might be. We have summer temps 38 - 45 degrees celcius not fahrenheit. Our winter temps are 8 - 16 C so we don't get a real winter.
Dthor ~ my fennel received no winter protection last winter and it shook of frost/freezing with no damage even.
Did your fennel was under the 12" of snow too?
We had that crazy day last year in DFW with all that snow.
No, I am sorry. I forgot you got that much snow. We didn't see that heavy snowfall here.
I am guessing you covered it? How did it look after the freezing temps?
Good ... I didn't lost anything.
I actually think that they liked a little.
Here is my veggie garden under the cover ... I was so worry because the snow was so heavy that my pvc pipes bent all the way down ... ouch !!
This message was edited Sep 28, 2010 7:38 PM
You know I suspect the bulbs from your fennel would suffer from a really hard freeze but the foliage wouldn't. Very pretty photo at this time of year. LOL
Wow drthor you did get lots of snow, let hope for better weather this winter. Is finally cooling down here in mobile, maybe I will be transplanting my fennel this weekend if the weather holds.
I actually enjoy the snow, especially when it will disappear the next day.
All my flowers and bulbs really like it
Spring time was such a show !!
This message was edited Sep 29, 2010 11:29 AM
