Organic Fennel Early Summer Sweet - Ferme de Sainte Marthe seeds - Foeniculum dulce

The Early Sweet Summer Fennel is a traditional and early variety that forms beautiful pearly white, flat, tender, and highly aromatic bulbs. This summer fennel is sown from March to June for a harvest from June to October.

Fennel belongs to the Apiaceae family (formerly Umbelliferae), just like carrot and dill. It forms a beautiful plant with fine and light foliage. The stems, the "bulb," and the seeds are consumed. It thrives in mild climates, and is grown in sunny, fairly rich soil.

Fennel is easy to grow, but needs some warmth to grow. It does not tolerate drought well, as it causes it to quickly go to seed. The art of the gardener is then to combine the right variety and sowing period.

The "bulb" is not really a bulb, but a fleshy part formed by the imbrication of the petioles. The swollen base has a beautiful pearly-white hue and a slightly aniseed flavour. It can be consumed both raw and cooked. Its stems are used to flavour fish dishes. If some plants go to seed, use the seeds to make a very good condiment that aids digestion.

Harvest: fennel is harvested approximately three months after sowing and is done as needed.

Storage: it is a rather cold-sensitive plant that cannot withstand frost. It cannot stay in the ground during winter and must be stored in a cellar. Freshly harvested fennel can be stored for a few days in a refrigerator. It can be stored for several months in a freezer, after being blanched beforehand.

Gardener's tip: mulch the soil from May with successive thin layers of grass clippings, if possible mixed with dead leaves. This protection keeps the soil moist and reduces weeding.

Organic or "AB" seeds come from plants grown without phytosanitary products (insecticides, herbicides). These seeds also do not undergo any treatment after harvest. They bear the AB label and are certified by Ecocert, an independent organisation.