The cultivation time of fennel
If sown directly in the field, fennel plants need about 12 weeks to reach a harvestable size. However, this is mainly true if you want to use the tubers of this tasty vegetable. If, on the other hand, you are primarily targeting the fennel seeds, you have to wait for the flowers to ripen in midsummer.
also read
- Successfully growing fennel in your own vegetable patch
- Correct sowing of fennel
- The drying and storage of fennel
Keep fennel from becoming lignified
Once fennel bulbs have reached the size of a human fist, they can be harvested for fresh consumption or for freezing. If you stay longer in the vegetable patch, you can also grow larger and be freshly harvested later. However, you should then protect the plants from excessive heat and drying out of the subsoil in order to avoid lignification of the tubers.
Harvesting the seeds of spiced fennel
To get the coveted fennel seeds, you have to wait for the fennel herb to flower. This is visible in golden yellow umbels in midsummer and is particularly pronounced in the so-called spiced fennel. Harvest the aromatic seeds by cutting the herb right on the tubers.
Easily separate the fennel seeds from the herb
Harvesting the fennel seeds is particularly uncomplicated if you harvest them from the plants with the faded herb. To do this, wait for the right time to ripen and tie bouquets to dry. If these are hung upside down above a smooth and clean surface, falling fennel seeds can easily be collected.
Fresh fennel as a vegetable
Fresh fennel with its aromatic-tasting tubers can be consumed as a fresh vegetable from August until the onset of winter. It is digestible raw or cooked for humans and also dogs.
Tips & Tricks
If you have overlooked the right harvest time, you don't have to pull out lignified fennel bulbs and throw them away. For example, cut off the old leaves to harvest seeds and wait for the new leaves to sprout. These can then be processed into salads or mixed vegetables.
