[lovemyveg]

I grew fennel bulbs for the first time this year.  Everything looked good, lots of lovely ferny growth.  But, the bulb did not get bulbous and remained flat, with a long root beneath, so were no good for eating.  I pulled the earth around the bulb as they grew, as I had read, but this did not help.  Can you tell me what I need to do next year, what I need to feed them with, if anything, and where did I go wrong this year.

[Trillium]

I had the same results, tall stalks and no bulb.  :x  Will see if I can find more info as to what happened.

[DD.]

Mine just ran to seed.

[Trillium]

Glad I wasn't the only one. It was very disappointing when I expected to gorge on fennel salads this fall and couldn't.

Anyway, here's an excellent info site that I belong to so just read down until you come to the fennel growing part.

http://www.growitalian.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi?flavor=archive&id=20080416015624&list=GrowItalian

[shirazcat]

Hi all,
        Methinks you may have sown the herb variety & not the bulbing one  Just a possibility as this grows as you have said, ;lots of lovely ferny growth. But, the bulb did not get bulbous and remained flat, with a long root beneath,;
 Make sure you buy bulbing fennel, I particularly like RUDY, it is sold by Kings Seeds. I have grown it for 2 years now & have never been dissapointed, the bulbs grow really well & do not bolt, another problem with fennel. Also unlike the info from the Italian company , you can transplant it easily, I start some off in pots under cover in mid May & plant them out mid June,no problems
                                                             Adrian.

[DD.]

Nope - definately bulbing!

[compostqueen]

I grow mine in cooler weather as it always bolts in hot weather. Having said that not all will come through safely to harvest and some always bolts even though sown at the same time and given identical conditions. Oh well, it's worth persevering as it's fabulous. My No.1 veg    I've got some baby ones on the plot now  

[Trillium]

Mine too was a bulbing type I bought from a grower because I didn't have the time.

[corynsboy]

The rubbish summer meant that only the good and the lucky managed a decent crop this year.  Mine was hopeless because I'm neither good nor lucky.  I can't wait to have another shot at fennel in the coming season.  I'm planting tonnes of the stuff in the vain hope that even some of it will survive.  This might be an excellent test for my side by side lunar planting.  

The RHS site has an excellent post about fennel.  Suggests the varieties to buy based on their findings.  Look at the size of them!

I love this site.
http://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/documents/fennel2005.pdf

[lovemyveg]

Hi all,
        Methinks you may have sown the herb variety & not the bulbing one  Just a possibility as this grows as you have said, ;lots of lovely ferny growth. But, the bulb did not get bulbous and remained flat, with a long root beneath,;
 Make sure you buy bulbing fennel, I particularly like RUDY, it is sold by Kings Seeds. I have grown it for 2 years now & have never been dissapointed, the bulbs grow really well & do not bolt, another problem with fennel. Also unlike the info from the Italian company , you can transplant it easily, I start some off in pots under cover in mid May & plant them out mid June,no problems
                                                             Adrian.

Mine were definitely the bulb fennel - Florence Finale a Johnsons Seed World Kitchen variety at a cost of £1.79.  I have had the taller ferny fennel in my garden for years, which grows to 5ft+ and is just used ornamental.  Thanks for the information on Kings Rudy seeds, I will try again next year.  Sorry if my reply is a bit late, my BT broadband had put all my emails from chat.allotment in the trash bin!!

[Stoatus]

I've tried and failed two years running now. They just go straight to seed.

[jennyb]

mine was not the herb and mine simply bolted too.

still debating whether to try again as i am limited on space in the garden

[Christine]

Mine looked more like leeks but tasted fine.