Hello all. 0) Mrs WT and I planted some parsnips in our veggie patch quite early in the year and nothing came up, so we planted in the same place some Fennel. This came grew as expected and we've been watching the foliage getting bigger and bigger, then flowering but no bulb to eat! So today we dug a couple up and they look and smell like Parsnips. :cnfs: What we don't understand is why the foliage looks and smells like fennel and the root looks like a Parsnip. I'll try and post a couple of photos. any thoughts on what we've got would be welcome. :gnthb: Heres the root. The foliage
What you have there is Fennel which is a herb, you eat the leaves and the seeds. What you hoped you were growing was Florence Fennel which produces a bulbous root which you use.:gnthb::D
Think you're right about it being herb fennel Dai. Blubbing fennel is marketed as Florence fennel & the blub is a swollen stem base rather than the root. The roots look like parsnip as they are the same family, umbelliferae, this includes, carrots, hogweed, lovage, hemlock, celery, cow parsley, parsley etc.
No worries, Its an easy mistake if you've not grown it before. Problem we have growing blubbing fennel in uk is that they tend to bolt & not form a blub. I've tried a later sowing this year as the spring sown ones all bolted, still only got one. Next year i'm thinking about an auto watering system. If they don't dry out then they might blub up.
just been to the shed to check the empty packets and I did buy the right Fennel! (Suttons Seeds, Fennel Finocchio Mantovano) Looks like the seed company made a mistake. :dh: Never mind worse things happen at sea. :D
There doesn't seem to be any vestige of a blub at the base from your pics. There usually is a broader bit where its bolted. I'll take a pic of mine tommorow & lob it on here.
Hi Will ting, Are you the same one that used to e mail the Terry Wogan show, or is that just a relative ? Thats one of my blubbing fennels, think I need to grow it nearer Italy.
Herb Fennel is still very useful, either as a herb (leaves and the seeds, which have an aniseed flavour) or as a herbaceous perennial architectural interest, as it gets up to quite a height. Good for the back of the border.
Just had a rummage ( with cokeage) in the foliage (mixed fennel & carrots) & found quite a few fennels have blubed up after all. They were from a late august sowing I think. If only I had some cheese to go with them.
