Freaky Fennel
Grateful Deadhead
Posts: 113
Dear Forum Members,
I dug up what I believed to be fennel on Friday, only to be disappointed when what came up were not lovely plump white juicy fennel bulbs fit for a salad, but straggly roots on one and basically nothing on the other (although the latter might be explained by getting too close with the spade).
The foliage most certainly does smell very strongly of aniseed so I really do think that it is fennel. I just looked a wally in front of the neighbours when I was excitedly digging it up only to pull up these miserable offerings.
Can any of you shed any light as to what went wrong? You will see from my profile that we haven't been living here long and that I had little to do with the cultivation of the plant originally. I have attached two photos.
Many thanks,
The Grateful Deadhead
Posts
Looks like you have common fennel, the one which grows a ''bulb'' is Florence fennel
Yes, you have the 'herb' fennel - chop bunches of the leaves and use them in fish dishes.
If you don't want to look a 'wally' in front of your neighbours - now that you've dug it up, dry the stems and use them on a BBQ to cook some fish - it will give it a lovely flavour and it'll look as if that's what you intended all alone
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/fennel-florence-sweet-seeds-pid2358.html
You need some of those
In the sticks near Peterborough
Duh! " .... all along"
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Aha!
Now I know something new. I had no idea.
Thank you DoveFromAbove also for the cooking tip - I'm into cooking as well, so great!
have a good day...
The Grateful Deadhead
Now is the right time to sow Florence fennel, if you sow it before the longest day it tends to bolt
Thanks for the tip!
The Grateful Deadhead