You fennel has simply reached maturity. That's how big it gets, even when totally neglected! You can harvest the leaves, the bulb or the seeds at any time you like from now on. If you let the seeds drop, they will come up as new plants - hence all your babies, I guess. If you keep letting it happen, you'll have a fennel-only garden, and before too long, a fennel-only neighbourhood (town, state, country....). Fennel has the reputation of inhibiting the growth of other plants growing near it, so keep that in mind.

If you want the seeds for eating, or to save for propagating later (which you don't, now you've got so much of it!), simply tie the toe end of some pantyhose over the flowerheads, and let the seeds fall into that. I'd suggest from here on that you chop off the flowerheads as they appear - that will help to keep it under control.

Now you can help me out -

What's with the '101'???

Daisy,
101 is a numbering system sometimes used at US universities. For example, Freshman level English would be English 101. Sophomore level, english 201, etc. That is usually for the basic classes. A Sophomore level English lit class might be English 202 or some other 200 number. My university didn't do it that way and it always bummed me out. Somehow Economics 10 just never sounded right.
Melly

Just as a further note, Daisy, while 101 did, indeed, start as Melly says, it has now become, in common usage, shorthand for identifying basic or introductory material no matter what the subject.

Sorry, 101 was my little attempt at a joke. Sometimes my humor is strange. Atleast that's what I am told! lol
Thanks for the info. I never thought about using pantyhose to catch the seeds. I am going to try that. Maybe I can salvage some seeds to trade. We do have babies coming up all over and I told my hubby he needs to thin out a few.
Thanks again for all the help!

Is this the same fennel I grew with lacy leaves that smells like anise? I never knew you could do anything with it but use the seeds for seasoning. What's this about a bulb? I feel like a dummy.

At any rate, we moved away and left our bronze fennel behind. I have to find new seeds somewhere 'cause I miss it and its tenacity.

An older plant of fennel will often develop a swollen stem at the base, near the dirt. This 'bulb' (which isn't a bulb at all, but that's what it's called) is often used as a vegetable, and can be eaten raw or cooked. There is a cultivar of fennel developed especially to produce better 'bulbs'. It's called Florence Fennel. Check out the pix at the link below.

The leaves of fennel are often used in cooking, too, both as a flavouring and as a garnish. It goes particularly well with fish. It can be used as a subsitute for dill. Here's a recipe which uses the leaves, just as an example. They can be chopped into salads etc.

Carrots and Fennel
20 baby carrots
2 tablespoons fennel leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
lemon wedges

Steam the carrots until just tender, about 10-12 minutes over medium heat. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Over low heat, add the carrots, stirring to coat with the butter. Add the fennel leaves and stir to combine. Serve in a decorative dish and garnish with lemon slices.

Fennel Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fennel leaves
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
pinch salt
pinch sugar

In a small saucepan, heat oil, fennel leaves, lemon juice, crushed garlic and salt and sugar. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Pour over a bowl of sweet red onion and thinly sliced cucumber.

Fennel goes well with: Salad, sausage, pork, duck, fish, cabbage, cucumber, onion, herb butter, cheese spread; seeds in desserts and breads. The greens can be used almost interchangeably with dill and the seeds can be used ground in lentil soups, whole in boiling water for rice and brussels sprouts. Seeds and leaves used with fish, in soups, salads and dressings.

In short, the entire above-ground parts of fennel can be eaten.

Here is a link that might be useful: florence fennel

It is funny how expressions don't translate the same. Of course, Australian english seems to bit further from American english than Canadian or British. Watching British tv over here there are occassionally expressions that puzzle me for a while I get the context. Maybe I should start emailing Flora :) My favorite is fiddly. It basically means something that is unnecessarily complicated. Most of the time I've seen it used in reference to computer programs that can tricky to set up right. It just seems to succint. Kinda like 101 to us.

Fiddly is a word I use often. It's not so much complicated, and intricate, like braiding bread, or cleaning hard-to-get-at corners of things, or tying fancy bows, making tiny flowers from pastry, doing up the buttons on a tiny baby's jacket, plucking your eyebrows, turning radishes into roses

To fiddle with something is to play aimlessly with it, like turning a pen round and round while you think, or twirling a strand of hair. It's a bit like twiddling.

To fiddle somebody, is to diddle them - rip them off, cheat, overcharge, give the wrong change. Truck drivers often fiddle their books (much like accountants and whoever is in charge of the national economy). They write up their logs with false information on the number of sleep breaks they've had, and that sort of thing.

Love the English language!