Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Quality Deer Management Throw n Mow Q&A

Why do assume that the dog fennel is NOT preforming a beneficial task? Do you believe dog fennel was put here on Earth with no purpose? Do you fully understand the role dog fennel is playing?


“The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant, "What good is it?" If the land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not. If the biota, in the course of aeons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.”

--- Aldo Leopold


I’m good with the dog fennel….It provides me with one hell of screen and buffer for free and the deer seem to like the increased "stems per acre". Its also bringing in a woody long term type of biomass that I don’t get from hardly any other plant. Not only that but its massive root structure is further stabilizing my sandy soil like big pillars holding up a large structure. One other thing I’ve noticed about dog fennel is that there’s some type of symbiotic relationship going on between the fennel and clover. Its very hard to grow good clover in soil this sandy but the one place I see it thrive is at the base of dog fennel plants. Another person suggested that it could be due to mycorrhizal fungi interconnecting the two and I believe he may be onto to something there. I also believe that the clover is providing the dog fennel with N while at the same time using the m. fungi connection with the dog fennel to gather moisture, The semi-shade it gets from the dog fennel also helps.