Wild Fennel

Wild Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare) is a Mediterranean herbaceous plant of the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) family. Known since ancient times for its aromatic properties, its horticultural cultivation seems to date back to the 16th century.

The Wild Fennel flower is harvested as soon as the flower is "open", normally from mid-August until late September. The fresh flower can be used or it can be dried outdoors and in the light, but away from direct sunlight which would evaporate the essential oils. Diachenes can be harvested at the beginning of autumn, when the transformation of the flower into fruit has taken place. The leaves and tender shoots can be picked from spring to late autumn. In phytotherapy the dried fruits or essential oil are used. Contains: Anethole from which its aroma depends, phencone, anisic ketone, dipinene, camphene, phellandrene, dipentene and methylcavic acid. The main use, as for plants like green anise and caraway, is carminative, that is, it helps to eliminate intestinal gas and at the same time prevents its formation. Therefore it is used for those with digestive difficulties, flatulence or aerophagia.

All parts of Fennel can be used in the kitchen. You can eat the white heart of cultivated fennel, erroneously considered a bulb, raw in salads or boiled and au gratin and you can add it to stews. The latter, more or less large, are used in the Marches to cook sea snails or to cure olives in salt with chilli pepper and garlic. The fresh and chopped leaves are used to flavor soups, fish dishes, salads and cheeses. In "pasta with sardines", a well-known Sicilian recipe, wild fennel leaves are one of the essential ingredients. The flowers are used to flavor boiled chestnuts, baked or pan-fried mushrooms, pickled olives and pork, especially the "porchetta" from Upper Lazio and Umbria in middle Italy. In Tuscany, wild fennel is used to flavor and perfume finocchiona, a salami in which fennel replaces black pepper, as well as its less compact variant, called Sbriciolona. The so-called "seeds" are used above all to flavor donuts or other home-made sweets and to spice hot wine, herbal teas or brines.

Wild Fennel requires little care and is easily maintained and reproduced both in the garden and in a small vegetable garden. Here is the practical guide for growing it: being a rustic plant, it easily adapts to arid and difficult terrain, but can stand the cold. In regions where the ground freezes, its crops will not be found. You also need good exposure to the sun and shelter from too much wind. Requires well-drained soil. It also adapts easily to sandy and gravelly soils, but is more productive in soils with good organic matter. The right time for Sowing is late Spring and Summer. The Seeds have a germinability rate ranging from 60% to 90%, they must be sown at a depth of one cm and once the seedlings have sprouted they must be placed at a distance of at least 30 cm from each other. They take from two to three weeks to germinate, if you plant them in pots use a pot with a diameter of about 15 cm, make the usual mix of universal soil and expanded clay and put two or three seeds per pot. To propagate the plant, just let the flower go to seed. A multitude of seeds are produced from a bush which are then very easy to germinate. It needs little water and also grows in arid areas. The entire bush can be consumed, right down to the base, so harvest every part of it. In particular, in autumn the roots, in summer the leaves and stems to be used as an aromatic herb and from the end of August to October the seeds, to spice dishes and make herbal teas. It fears aphids, if it is attacked you can cut the plant in the most infested parts, use nettle and garlic macerate. It also fears fungal diseases that start from the root and the soil, such as root rot and collar rot. To prevent the problem, pay attention to too much humidity and prevent any water stagnation.

One sachet contains +100 Seeds which will be more than enough for a bountiful harvest.

Wild Fennel - Foeniculum Vulgare