Florence Fennel, is a popular European vegetable, native to the Mediterranean region. 'Romanesco’ is a classic Italian variety, High bolting resistance and best grown for late cropping, it produces large rounded bulbs weighing between 500g and 1kg.

The whole plant may be used, is popular eaten raw like celery, cooked, or boiled. The leaves can be used for flavouring and the bulb can be either used raw in salads or braised as a vegetable. Bulbing fennel is popular in Italian and other Mediterranean recipes and is especially good with fish dishes.

The plant itself only grows 60 to 90cm (24 to 36in) tall, which makes it an ideal candidate for smaller gardens. The plants can even be grown in containers, although a minimum 5 gallon container is needed to provide a highly fertile and consistently moist soil as any check in growth will induce bolting.
Also called Finuccio, it is easy to grow and very hardy, lasting well after the first frost. With bright green, fern-like leaves and aromatic yellow flowers. The foliage and seeds have an anise-like flavour. It is a cousin of the herb fennel, which is prized for its feathery leaves.

Sowing: Sow Direct in Feb to April and / or June to July
The best time to plant Florence fennel is in early spring and again in mid summer so that the plants can mature in cooler autumn weather.
Seed can be sown indoors and transplanted, but as the taproots of the plant don't transplant well, any disturbance of the root will tend to cause the plant to bolt, it is often better to sow directly. Fennel germinates at temperatures of 10 to 30°C (50 to 86°F)
If grown in containers a minimum 5 gallon container is needed to provide a highly fertile and consistently moist soil.
Sow in spring as soon as the ground can be worked and / or again in early summer.
Sow seeds about 5cm (2in) apart, 6mm (¼in) deep, in rows 45cm (18in) apart and cover with 1/4in of soil. When the plants are about 5cm (2in) tall, thin them to about 20-30cm (8-12in) by 60-100cm (24-36in), as they tend to be quite greedy feeders and will compete with any other plant that is forced to share space with it.

Cultivation:
Water plants during dry periods, once or twice per week. Add a general purpose fertilizer once or twice a season. Deadhead: Allow one plant to go to seed and you won't have to plant fennel in your garden for a few years again.

Harvesting: 90 days
Harvest leaves as at any time. Harvest bulbs when they reach tennis ball size or bigger (July to Sept). Pull every other one out as needed to allow those remaining to grow even bigger. Leave the roots in the ground as Bulb fennel regrows after cutting.
Do not pull these plants up in advance of the first frost. They are very hardy and should continue to thrive and grow, even after a number of hard frosts.
Harvest flower heads after seeds have formed and the flower head has died. Extract seeds and dry them in a cool, dry location.

Edible uses:
Having an Anise like taste, the bulbs and stalks are eaten raw like celery. They are also cooked in a variety of Italian and other ethnic foods.
The leaves are used in sauces, soups, and condiments. The oil is used to flavour liqueurs, candy, fish and medicine. Oil of Fennel is used in soaps too
Store in a plastic bag, in the crisper section of the refrigerator for no more than three to four days. Fennel loses its flavour quickly so it’s best to use it as soon as possible.

Companion Planting:
The crucial thing to know about fennel is that you do not want it growing close to any other plant, and most especially nowhere near other members of the Umbellifrae family, which is a large one. It inhibits the growth of most plants, and readily cross-pollinates with its kin to give useless results on both plants.
Grow it by itself off in a corner of the garden, or in pots placed well away from the herb bed (and your carrots!) If you see large, black & green caterpillars on your fennel, don't be alarmed. Fennel is also a host plant for swallow butterfly caterpillars.

Envoi:
"Finocchio" is the proper Italian and more or less universal European name for this vegetable. But be aware that, in Italian, the word is also slang a rather vulgar, pejorative, and definitely not politically correct epithet!