Last year I discovered that fennel is a cut-and-come-again plant.
What I mean is - there are some plants that you might normally harvest as a whole, but you can also harvest them gradually, taking bits off as you want them. Alternatively, you can harvest them completely, but if you harvest them in the right way, they will come again.
In fact perhaps this time too many have sprouted. I broke some of these off to allow enough space for them to grow. In the end I left 5 little plants to thicken.
Now, again, I can think about harvesting some of the bulbs that have resulted.
What I mean is - there are some plants that you might normally harvest as a whole, but you can also harvest them gradually, taking bits off as you want them. Alternatively, you can harvest them completely, but if you harvest them in the right way, they will come again.
Last year I harvested a bulb of fennel by cutting it off at ground level, intending to pull the roots out at a later date. But I got lazy or forgot or something and found that the base sprouted 3 baby fennel. They grew well and strong and I harvested those three bulbs, again by cutting the bulb off at the base. That base again sprouted many many babies on the outer edge of the base.
Now, again, I can think about harvesting some of the bulbs that have resulted.
The other thing I have found is that the plants tend to grow fairly quickly. Perhaps it's because they are working off such a big root system?
I wonder how long I can keep harvesting fennel in this way? Even in wet weather the cut roots don't seem to rot. In fact they seem to harden off and get nice and lumpy.
I will again harvest by cutting at the base to see how long I can push my luck! One makes 3, 3 makes 5, perhaps 7 bulbs next time from the one root mass?
That's brilliant, I've never read about that before! Pity I just harvested my last fennel, but I'll definitely try it next time around. Thanks for a great tip!
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful when you learn these things accidently isn't it! One of the best things about gardening is learning thru doing and thru observation.
DeleteBrilliant! Don't we just love crops that regenerate or look after themselves? I'm not sure that I'm a fennel fan but I might give them a go, just to be sure. :)
ReplyDeleteThey are the best plants these self maintainers. I didn't like fennel once upon a time but I love it now. If you decided you wanted to try it, you might like to look at one of my favourite recipes - one with black olives and tomatoes. It's in my recipe list.
DeleteOh thanks, I'll give it a try. I love olives and tomatoes so I expect this will be right up my alley.
DeleteHow wonderful! I have never eaten fennel. I was going to give it a go this fall, but a caterpillar ate all my little seedlings.
ReplyDeleteNaughty caterpillas!
DeleteYes, the never ending veg are great! I once harvested a fennel for 3 years. It just kept producing bulbs and I kept harvesting them and giving them to a friend, as (I'm sure I'm repeating myself here buy anyways) I don't like fennel. Actually I think the plant may still be going. It was back at my parents house and planted maybe 8 years ago... I'll check it when I'm over there next weekend. But yes, until you rip out the roots it will just keep giving you fennel. I find they get thinner and thinner but they taste much the same.
ReplyDeleteOh I am glad that someone else has discovered this trick. There must be an optimum no of cycles to still get good bulbs. The first cycle - when I got three bulb were amazing, they were huge but that might have been a result of lots of rain. This time one bulb is quite big and the others are a little behind. I will see how they go.
DeleteI'm impressed how big the subsequent bulbs are. I am definitely going to try this.
ReplyDeleteI wonder for how many cycles they will stay a good size.... I will report!
DeleteWhat a great discovery! Spring onions do the same and I have had some luck with bok choy re-sprouting too, love those plants that keep on giving like kale, spinach and broccoli. Sometimes great discoveries are made with a little laziness, just sitting back and watching what happens.
ReplyDelete