Roots & tubers
Florence fennel
For roasting; best as a fall crop.
- Outside
- Direct mid Jul, fall crop only
- Where
- Raised bed or in ground
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Even; any drought is an invitation to bolt
- Harvest
- Oct, before hard freeze
Florence fennel makes fat roasting bulbs here only as a fall crop, sown in July for an October harvest. Spring sowings answer the lengthening days by bolting, so they are not offered the chance.
Growing
Direct sow in mid July, thin to ten inches, and treat it gently: even moisture, no crowding, no transplant shock, because every stress reads as an invitation to bolt. As bulbs swell in September, pull a little soil against them to keep the bases white. Cut at the root plate through October before hard freeze; the after-the-solstice timing does the real work, telling the plant to bulb instead of flower.
Varieties
Zefa Fino was selected for bolt resistance and is the right seed for the job; Perfection is the traditional runner-up.
In the kitchen
Roasted wedges go caramel at the edges and quietly sweet, nothing like the raw anise snap. Shaved raw with lemon it sharpens a fall salad, and the fronds are a free herb.