FENNEL GROW GUIDE

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Depth to Plant

Spacing Between Plants

Days to Germinate (Sprout)

Germination
Soil Temp

Best Season to Plant_________

Sun
Requirement

Soil
Requirements

Good Plant Companions

Harvest Instructions

Shop Fennel Seeds

1/8" Deep

10" Apart

7-14 Days

Between 50° F and 70° F

Spring

Full Sun

pH Between 6.5 and 8.

Dill

Harvest Bulb Before It Goes to Seed

How to Grow & Harvest Fennel (source)

Fennel is a unique herb and vegetable. The entire plant can be consumed. Enjoy fennel cooked or eaten raw. Fennel is very easy to grow and care for. It's been known to grow wild as an invasive herb/vegetable alongside roads in many coastal areas but wild fennel is quite different from domestic fennel and will not produce bulbs.

When to Plant

Fennel is known as a perennial that ought to be planted sometime after the last frost of the winter. Seeds germinate once soil temperatures can be measured between 50° F and 70° F. It takes up to a hundred days to mature.

How to Plant

Try sowing seeds directly into your gardens, because transplanting fennel usually doesn't work very well. Make sure you've had the last frost of the season and plant them about one inch deep, and about ten or twelve inches apart. Space fennel seeds in rows 13" apart. Keep watered well until seeds germinate, sometime between 7 – 14 days.

If you're growing fennel in containers, make sure one plant has at least 5 gallons of soil. Fennel can develop and intense root system.

When to Harvest

Harvest after about 80-100 days. Try growing multiple plants if you're interested in harvesting the bulb and seeds. Let a few plants go to seed and harvest a few bulbs before the plant bolts.

Harvest the bulbs when they are approximately the same size as a tennis ball. Once the plant bolts, the flavor will be ruined so try to harvest it before them. Cut the bulb and stalks off right at the soil line.

Try harvesting a little of the fennel leaves at a time, as needed but don't cut to much at one time.

If you're looking to harvest the seeds, harvest those in the fall when the plants have turned brown. You can do so by easily shaking the plant into a bag or container. Save a few seeds for using as herbs in your kitchen, and put a few away to start your crop next year.