Fennel, Bulb Finocchio Di Parma Sel. Prado

Italian Heirloom Fennel "Di Parma Sel. Prado" Mid-Early Special Selection.  Large white and well closed pods with crispy sheaths.  Great taste and texture.  An Italian Heirloom Garden must.  80-85 days

Di Parma sel. Prado: A mid/late alpine fennel variety from Parma. The white bulb is compact with crunchy sheaths and a full cane. Sow from mid July to the end of August and harvest to the middle of November. There are two types of fennel, sown at different times of the year. The most common type is sown from March to May, but there is also alpine fennel, which is sown from June to August and which many find more successful. You are sowing it with heat and growing it into cold, so it will be less likely to bolt.  If you are a beginner at growing veg and want to grow fennel because you absolutely love it, then grow something else: fennel is really picky and, to be honest, difficult to grow! Honesty is the best policy at this point and we want you to be successful in growing your vegetables - so start with something else and graduate up to fennel. Now doubtlessly many people never have problems growing fennel, but this is where gardening can be so variable: what eight people find impossible, two find easy! What tends to happen to some is that they get nice plants that then tend to bolt and go to seed, so they don't end up with the bulb but do get the wild fennel leaves, which can be used with salmon steaks, and then they get the fennel seeds, which can be used to make Porchetta - Roman pork stuffed with garlic and fennel seeds