Fennel is a popular vegetable, medicinal and spice plant that should not be missing in any garden. We provide tips on growing fennel in the garden and pot.
The fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a Mediterranean vegetable plant that is now also popular in our latitudes in the garden. This article tells you what you should consider when sowing and planting fennel.
Planting fennel: The right location
Fennel prefers sheltered, warm, sunny locations on deep, nutrient-rich, slightly calcareous, sandy, loamy soil with good water retention. The plants can be cultivated in a raised bed or simply in a vegetable patch. Fennel can also be grown in pots on balconies and terraces, as long as the planters are big enough and high enough for the deep-rooting plant. Poor beds should be enriched with mature compost before planting fennel in spring to provide sufficient nutrients and improve the soil structure.
Planting fennel: This is how it works
Fennel does well as a main crop in batch, trailing cultivation in the garden. A harvest from July to October is possible throughout. A three to four year break in cultivation to other umbellifers (Apiaceae), such as carrots (Daucus carota), parsley (Petroselinum crispum) or chervil beet ( Chaerophyllum bulbosum), is useful to avoid disease transmission and soil fatigue. Fast-growing leafy greens such as spinach (Spinacia oleracea) or lettuce are suitable as pre-cultivation.
Sowing of fennel
Fennel can be grown on a sunny windowsill from the beginning of March. Direct sowing outdoors only makes sense from mid-April when the soil temperatures are well above 10 °C. It is also usually only carried out with spice fennel. The advantage of growing fennel in pots with later planting out compared to no-till tuber fennel is that the plantsgrow stronger and stronger. You can sow the seeds of fennel up to August and thus extend the harvest time into October. Small pots filled with nutrient-poor substrate are suitable for sowing fennel. Our Plantura Organic Herb & Seed Soil is ideal for this purpose. The tof-free and low-s alt soil promotes root growth and, thanks to the high compost content, stores moisture that is released to the plants when needed. The individual fennel seeds are sown about 1 - 2 cm deep into the ground and kept well moist. Germination takes place at optimal temperatures of 18 - 22 °C after about ten to fourteen days.
Prick out and plant out
From a size of about five to eight centimetres, the seedlings are pricked out in the preculture. The young plants move into large pots with more nutrient-rich soil or directly into the open air from April. When direct sowing spice fennel, on the other hand, the often numerous seedlings must be separated at a distance of 10 - 15 cm in order to create enough space for the young plants. The planting distance of tuber fennel is about 30 - 40 cm. This distance should be maintained in all directions - both between individual plants and between rows.
If you want to grow fennel in a pot, the planter should hold 3 to 5 liters per plant of tuber fennel. Larger pots have the advantage that several fennel plants can be cultivated in them and watering can take place less frequently in summer. In order to avoid waterlogging, which is dangerous for the fennel, there should be a drainage layer of sand, gravel or expanded clay about 5 cm high at the bottom of the pot in addition to good water drainage. First fill the pot with nutrient-rich potting soil such as our Plantura Organic Tomato & Vegetable Soil. Now the young fennel plants are planted in the ground. Make sure that the plants are not lower than they were in the pot beforehand and then press down the soil well all around. After planting, watering should be vigorous.
When is fennel planting time? Bolt-resistant fennel varieties can be planted outdoors as young plants between mid-April and mid-July. Italian autumn fennel varieties, which flower easily if cultivated too early, should only be sown in midsummer between July and August.
If the soil was enriched with compost before planting, no further fertilization is necessary. The situation is different when cultivating fennel in pots, because here it isSoil volume and thus also the nutrient supply is limited. The medium-consuming fennel plants therefore benefit greatly from predominantly organic fertilization. Our Plantura organic tomato fertilizer is simply worked into the surface of the plant and acts as a long-term fertilizer over several months. The high potassium requirement of the fennel is also optimally covered by the potassium-rich granulated fertilizer.
Fennel in mixed cultivation
A mixed culture with fennel can have advantages for both planting partners. Ideally, pests and diseases are kept away and the soil is never unilaterally leached. Fennel itself should only be grown in the same area every four to five years.
Good neighbors for fennel are for example:
- Peas (Pisum sativum)
- Salads
- Cucumbers (Cucumis sativus)
- Sage(Salvia officinalis).
Bad neighbors for fennel are:
- Nightshade plants such as tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), pepper (Capsicum annuum) and potato(Solanum tuberosum )
- Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)
In late summer, the harvest time of the Mediterranean vegetables finally begins. With us you will learn everything about harvesting and storing fennel.