How to Grow & When to Plant Fennel In Your Backyard Garden

Fennel not only adds many different unique flavors into your dishes, but is a great pollinator attractant! Although this helps to bring beneficial insects into your garden, this is not the best companion plant for other foods and has many enemy plants. Fennel is best planted by itself away from other vegetables, but close enough to bring in pollinators!

How to Grow:

Fennel is planted indoors 4-6 weeks before your last spring frost and outdoors after your first fall frost. You can see specific dates for your location using our FREE iOS, Android, and Universal Web App.

Fennel seeds are planted 1/4 inch deep, 4 per square foot, in full sun to part shade. Take care to notice what plants are around the area as well, see the companion plant section below. Fennel seeds will sprout in approximately 7-14 days. Provide consistent moisture.

Companion Plants:

Companion planting is a vital part of organic gardening. Companion plants assist in the growth of others by attracting beneficial insects, repelling pests, or providing nutrients, shade, or support. There are also plants that do not like being next to each other. Some plants get too tall and can provide too much shade for your plant. Sometimes certain plants attract the same pests, so it is important to try and separate these.

Fennel is a great attractant of pollinators, but hinders growth of many plants.

Bad
Beans (Bush & Pole)	Eggplant
Bok Choy	Kale
Broccoli	Kohlrabi
Brussel Sprouts	Mustard Greens
Cabbage	Peppers (Banana, Bell, Hot, Sweet)
Cauliflower	Tomatoes (Bush & Vine)
Cilantro/Coriander	Turnips

See companion plants for 80+ foods in our FREE iOS, Android, and Universal Web app!

Pests:

Pests can be one of the most difficult challenges you face in the garden. We strive to grow food without the use of pesticide and luckily there are natural solutions for most of these nasty pests! The pests listed below are common ones for onions:

Learn more about how to manage pests and attract beneficial insects in our FREE iOS, Android, and Universal Web App!

Harvesting:

Fennel is ready to harvest within 60-90 days. The bulbs will be ready to harvest when they reach approximately tennis ball sized. Simply cut the base straight across with a knife and bring inside to enjoy!

Cooking & Eating!

You can eat all sections of fennel! The bulb has a slightly sweet flavor. The stalks are similar to celery and have a crunch to them. The top of fennel is similar to parsley or dill and used commonly as a garnish or herb. You can store fennel in the refrigerator for up to a week. Preserve by freezing and drying. Fennel pairs especially great with fish dishes!

Learn more about growing over 80 different foods, including how to manage various pests in our FREE iOS , Android, or new Universal Web App!