Fennel cultivation - planting and care, types
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FENGEL THIS IS NOT AROUND!
Each summer resident wants to see in his garden something that he had never grown before. I can recommend one such culture with pleasure - fennel. Immediately make a reservation that this plant in our gardens is still a rare guest, but it's a pity.
TWO TYPES OF FENHEL
Fennel is a close relative of dill and anise.
He has the same sweet taste and aroma as the latter. From dill, it is more thermophilic. This is a very tall plant, reaching a height of 1,7 m.
There are two types of this plant. The first, most common, is fennel common (sometimes it is called pharmaceutical dill) gives a lot of greenery, blossoms and forms seeds. All the dill water familiar to children is made from this plant.
Second view - vegetable fennel, it forms a thickening at the bottom, similar to a kochanchik, which is used raw in salads. It is also very tasty to bake a fennel on a grill, simply cutting the baby head in half and oiling it with vegetable oil.
Vegetable fennel greens are also eaten throughout the season, it is juicy, tender and aromatic. It is best to remove the heads of cabbage when they reach a diameter of 10-12 cm. You need to cut them under the root, leave several petioles 10-15 cm long on them. The cabbage is allowed to lie in the shade, and then put away for storage. In our risk-taking zone, if the summer is too damp and cold, fennel may not make head of cabbage, so be prepared for the risks.
See also: Fennel - cultivation on the site, species, properties and application
SEEDING AND HANDLING OF FENHEL
I grow fennel in seedlings. Seeds sow 20 in March in moist, light soil (peat and sand) by 2 pcs. in the cell, I close it with glass and put it on the windowsill. Seed emerges quickly enough, after two weeks, thin thread-shoots are already clearly visible. As soon as they grow to glass, I immediately remove it.
Seedlings develop well, but until the very landing in the ground remain very thin and tender. It should be carefully monitored, so that the soil does not dry up, but it's also not worth pouring.
Approximately 20 May, I plant the seedlings of fennel on a permanent place in the garden. To do this, I prepare a light shelter in advance: I put on an arch of the arc and close it with a spunbond. In the garden fennel begins to develop rapidly. Even if there are cold nights, this does not deter his growth. Since there is enough moisture in the spring, it is only necessary to water the plants if necessary.
Council
It should be noted that fennel is a fairly aggressive culture, it depresses all plants that are near. Therefore, it is recommended to plant it on a separate bed. It is because of this "nature" that it seems to me that all pests bypass it. Fennel diseases are also very rarely affected.
FENGEL: CARE
After the onset of stable heat, shelter from fennel should be removed, it will already be stronger by this time and will continue to develop independently. I have enough fertile soil in the garden, so I do not feed the plant for the whole season. Fennel very fond of water, so if the summer is hot, it should be abundant and often watered. The main care is reduced to weeding and loosening the rows.
Unlike dill, fennel is a strongly leafy plant, its fresh fragrant greens will be on your table throughout the season. Common fennel hibernates relatively well, but I cover it with fallen leaves for the winter.
RECEIVING SEEDS
Seeds in fennel ripen in the second year. Even if you sowed it early, it will blossom this year, but the seeds will mature, to a great degree of regret. do not have time. If there is a desire to obtain seed, it is necessary at the end of September to dig up the roots and store them in the basement, pouring sand.
In the spring they are planted on a bed at a distance of 20-30 cm from each other and with rows between rows - 40-45 cm. When the seeds become brownish in color, the umbrellas are cut, hung upside down in a dark, well-ventilated room for drying. When shedding begins, the inflorescences are threshed, and the seeds are packed in paper bags.
Note
Ripened fennel seeds are an excellent seasoning. They are used in many dishes, they are very good for fish and various pickles and marinades.
See also: Fennel Italian - cultivation and useful properties of sweet fennel
GROWING FENNEL - TIPS AND REVIEWS OF GARDENERS
FENNEL IN MY GARDEN
I want to share my experience in growing fennel.
In recent years, I have become unhappy with my dill. Previously, he grew in the garden like a weed, but now you allocate a bed for him, cherish, take care of: you will not have time to look back, and he is already gone. So I decided to plant fennel in the spring in addition to dill. I thought: let it grow, because it won't get any worse.
After all, he is a relative of dill. In the fall, she gave him a sunny bed with fertile permeable soil. Then I stocked up on a bag of Aromat seeds. In the spring, I sowed the seeds directly into the ground to a depth of 2-3 cm. As soon as the shoots appeared, I thinned them, leaving 10-12 cm between them. I took care of the fennel as usual: watering, weeding, loosening - only I did not indulge in top dressing. In appearance, it really looks like dill. However, this is only at first, inattentive glance. Fennel is closer to anise in smell and sweetish taste.
Its leaves and young shoots have become a great help on the farm. All summer I used them a little in cooking, adding them to vegetable, fish, meat and even fruit dishes. But especially the stems and fennel seeds at the end of the season helped me out. Dill, as fennel is often called, perfectly replaced odorous dill when salting cucumbers, zucchini and tomatoes, and also when pickling cabbage.
I, of course, am not going to give up dill, but now I cannot live without fennel either. I hope it will continue to meet my expectations. Moreover, this wonderful plant, like dill, also has healing properties, helping to get rid of many diseases.
GROWING FENGEL FROM SEEDS - VIDEO
© Author: Marina BAKHAREVA
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Fennel
This is what my children call fennel, and now my grandchildren. Sometimes we add leaves to salads, but usually we “use” just like that, on the go: I picked a few sprigs of fennel and put it in my mouth. A little granddaughter, when we pass by a garden with a bright green curtain, often asks to chew on “sweet” dill.
I tried several times to grow vegetable varieties of fennel to try its meaty "heads". But. unfortunately, an ordinary stem grew, however, a little larger and juicier. This year we decided to try our luck again. We will try to do everything according to the rules. Even in the greenhouse we will select a corner.
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Last year, vegetable fennel was first grown. He eats not only greens, but also a root stalk, resembling a bulb in shape.
In early April, she introduced a bucket of humus and a half-liter can of wood ash per 1 sq. Meter of garden beds. I dug up, leveled the earth with a rake. Sowed one seed at a distance of 7 cm from each other. Poured plentifully. She covered with a spanbond. When the seedlings appeared, I fed it with a solution of potassium sulfate (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water). A month later, I poured a solution of herbal mash (1 liter per 10 liters of water). In mid-July, she fed a solution of calcium nitrate (matchbox per bucket of water). Root crops grew to envy!
I tried to add fennel to soups and salads. But it’s best to bake this vegetable with cheese.
I cut three or four onions of fennel into quarters, blanch for five minutes in boiling salted water. Spread in a baking dish, salt and pepper to taste. I sprinkle with vegetable oil and bake in an oven preheated to 200 degrees, 35-40 minutes. Five minutes before turning off, sprinkle abundantly with grated cheese. When the cheese melts - a great side dish for fish and meat is ready!
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Fennel loves a short daylight. With a long daylight, plants can quickly shoot and sprout. Therefore, with early sowing of seeds, I recommend installing medium arches over the bed with fennel and at 7-8 o’clock in the evening cover the crops with black spanbond, and remove the shelter in the morning. In addition, at the end of the season it will be possible to leave several plants wintering in the garden. In September, feed them with a solution of potassium nitrate (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water). In mid-October, mulch with peat and humus, and with the first frost cover with leaf litter or fir branches. In the spring, as soon as the snow melts, remove the shelter. As soon as the earth warms up, the plants will grow, and it will be possible to begin to clean the greens. In summer, it will be possible to collect seeds from them.
Svetlana KRIVENKOVA, agronomist