Bronze sweet fennel is a dark, smoky foliage plant with liquorice-flavoured leaves and seeds; it works well as a hazy backdrop in perennial borders. The yellow inflorescences attract many ladybirds, which helps to keep aphids at bay. Sweet fennel is specifically grown for its seeds – which are actually fruits – that are used fresh or dried as a spice in many culinary traditions such as bread, salami and liqueurs recipes. Roasted fennel fruits are eaten as mukhwas, an after-meal digestive and breath freshener, or candied as comfit in India. Fun fact: as a result of Spanish colonisation, the plant became wild and is now widely found along California’s legendary Interstate 101.

SEEDS
150 seeds

NAME
Foeniculum vulgare

SHORT DESCRIPTION
weet fennel is specifically grown for its seeds – which are actually fruits – that are used fresh or dried as a spice in many culinary traditions.

PLANT SIZE
Height 50 cm
Width 100 cm

CONTAINER SIZE
Height 30 cm
Width 40 cm

SOWING
Indoor Feb - Mar
Outdoor Apr-June

TIMING
Germination 7-14 days
Harvesting 90 days

SPACING
When sowing 30-50 cm; Depth 0.5 cm
When thinning 40-50 cm

GROWING
Sunlight Full sun
Soil Well drained moist soil
Watering LowFeeding Light feeder

CARING
Expert tip To improve germination, soak the seeds for a few days. If allowed, bronze fennel with lavishly self seed: to prevent, remove the seed heads as they turn brown.

SUPPORTING
Pollinators Attracts bees, butterflies and bumblebees.

About Piccolo

Seed for contemporary gardens. Good things come in small packages.

Piccolo, as the name implies, specialises in researching and selecting dwarf vegetables that have compact habits, suitable for growing in pots on a balcony or terrace in an urban vegetable garden, specially designed for terrace gardens and small space.

Along with vegetables, Piccolo thinks a balcony garden should also be beautiful so they also offer fruits, edibles flowers and herbs. Their selected seeds are packed with sustainable and completely recyclable materials.

All the varieties are open-pollinated, non-hybrid and non-GMO.