Fennel. Anise, Pharmaceutical Dill. Care, Cultivation, Reproduction. Spices. Greens. Vegetables. Plants In The Garden. Beneficial Features. Application. A Photo

Fennel. Anise, Pharmaceutical Dill. Care, Cultivation, Reproduction. Spices. Greens. Vegetables. Plants In The Garden. Beneficial Features. Application. A Photo
Fennel. Anise, Pharmaceutical Dill. Care, Cultivation, Reproduction. Spices. Greens. Vegetables. Plants In The Garden. Beneficial Features. Application. A Photo

Video: Fennel. Anise, Pharmaceutical Dill. Care, Cultivation, Reproduction. Spices. Greens. Vegetables. Plants In The Garden. Beneficial Features. Application. A Photo

Video: Fennel. Anise, Pharmaceutical Dill. Care, Cultivation, Reproduction. Spices. Greens. Vegetables. Plants In The Garden. Beneficial Features. Application. A Photo
Video: Maximize Abundance in Your Veg Garden with Rapid Succession Planting in Peak Summer 2024, March
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Fennel (Foeniculum, family Umbrella) is a food, spice and medicinal culture. Fennel bulbs are used for food in fresh and boiled form, the leaves are used as a seasoning for soups, meat and vegetable dishes, and preparations are made from the fruits that help with flatulence (dill water). Fennel is also irreplaceable as a spice for canning. Fennel is native to the Mediterranean countries. Even in ancient times, the Romans, Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese appreciated fennel for its aroma, reminiscent of the smell of tarragon and mint, and for its medicinal properties. All parts of fennel are rich in essential oils, among which anethole is predominant, which helps to improve digestion and awaken appetite. In addition, fennel contains ascorbic acid, provitamin A and vitamin PP.

Fennel
Fennel

© Civvi

Fennel is an upright perennial plant with carved pinnately dissected dill-like leaves. Hence the second name for fennel - aniseed or pharmaceutical dill. The fennel inflorescence is a complex umbrella, the flowers are small yellow-green, the fruit is an ovoid-oblong achene. Fennel flowers emit a unique aroma, bees are very fond of them. The most popular are two types of fennel - common fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and Italian fennel (Foeniculum italica). The best varieties of fennel are Florentine salad and Ordinary.

Fennel prefers a warm and bright location. Therefore, it is advisable to plant it in an area protected from the wind. The soils should be fertile - clayey, with a high humus content, it is also good to add lime to them. If you want to grow fennel for greens, then the seeds can be sown directly into the open ground in the spring, and to get bulbs in central Russia, you will have to plant seedlings (in the south, bulbs can be obtained by sowing seeds and in open ground). The best precursors for fennel are potatoes and root vegetables (beets, radishes).

Fennel
Fennel

© Frank Vincentz

For seedlings, fennel is sown in March, 2 - 3 seeds per pot, of the seedlings that appear, the strongest is left. Seedlings are transplanted into open ground when the threat of spring frosts has passed, while trying not to damage the roots (peat pots are convenient), since their damage leads to increased shoot formation, but the bulbs will develop poorly. The distance between plants in a row should be about 20 cm. Two weeks after planting, you can feed the fennel with liquid organic fertilizer, but you should not apply manure for this culture. Further care consists in timely weeding, watering and loosening of plants. Forming bulbs should be slightly earthed.

Sowing seeds in open ground on greens is carried out in early spring, when the temperature settles at 6–8 ° C, you can sow fennel before winter. Sowing depth is 1 - 2 cm, row spacing is 45 cm. Seedlings appear in about two weeks. They are thinned out, the soil is loosened. When the stem at the base reaches 10 mm in diameter, the greens can be cut off. Leaves are cut off at a height of 15 cm from the fleshy thickening, dried in the shade in bunches. During the growing season, fennel manages to produce greens twice. In one place, fennel can grow for several years in a row. In the spring, after the snow melts, the soil around the overwintered plants is loosened and fed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizer.

Fennel
Fennel

© Forest & Kim Starr

If you want to get fennel seeds, then just do not cut the leaves from it and wait for the plant to bloom. The seeds are harvested when about half of them in the umbrella are ripe. After that, the umbrellas are cut and dried in a dark place until the seeds are brown. You can propagate fennel and dividing the bush. In this case, the fennel rhizome is cut in such a way that each part has at least two buds.

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