Fennel Season

Fennel is in season in Australia from autumn through to early spring, with peak supply between June and September. The bulb (technically the swollen leaf base of Florence fennel, Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum) is at its most generous from May onwards, after seeds sown in summer have had 10–12 weeks to develop. You'll find the best value and the freshest bulbs at the market from June through to August, when Victorian crops are in full swing.

Fennel is primarily a winter crop in Australia, with peak supply from June to September.

Commercial bulb fennel is sown in summer. Seed planted before Christmas tends to bolt to flower before developing the fleshy bulb, since fennel is photoperiodic (its growth cycle is tied to nighttime length). Modern varieties like Zefa Selma are less bolt-prone than older cultivars. From sowing to harvest takes around 10–12 weeks, followed by four to five weeks of blanching (covering the swollen base with cardboard to reduce bitterness and whiten the bulb). Fennel grows a deep taproot and is usually direct-sown. Water stress during bulb development is the quickest way to push the plant into bolting, per ABC Gardening Australia.

Fennel is native to the Mediterranean basin, alongside its Apiaceae relatives celery, carrot, parsley and dill. It arrived in Australia with European settlement and naturalised as a roadside weed across southern regions. According to ABS Horticulture Statistics 2022-23, Victoria accounts for about 80% of Australian production. Its cool-temperate climate suits the autumn-winter growing window well, with QLD (11%), NSW (5%), WA (3%) and SA (1%) making up the rest.

According to the ABS Australian Agriculture Horticulture dataset, fennel production in 2022/23 was 1,391 tonnes with a farm-gate value of $4.0 million, holding fairly steady over the decade in a 1,020–1,450 tonne range. Fresh exports and imports are both recorded as zero. All Australian fennel stays domestic. The ABS figures capture commercial bulb fennel only. Wild fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) that escaped cultivation now lines roadsides across southern Australia and is listed as an environmental weed in several states, particularly south-west WA and parts of SA, where it cross-pollinates freely with cultivated crops if not controlled, as Seed Savers Connect notes.