Purple (Non) Sprouting Broccoli
I looked at last year's alloment plan and I'd noted down transplanting five PSB plants on 30/03/07. They seemed to grow away fine.
Nearly a year later I've just pulled them up with nary a PSB worth talking about. Anyone else failed with this crop? Reading the catalogues I had high hopes. You wait a long time but harvest when little else is available. Maybe I should have left them in longer but I needed to prepare and plant up the potato beds before I leave on holiday and they were in the way.
I planted PSB seeds on 31st March last year, plants were planted out late May and they are looking very robust now. Expecting to crop shortly.
This year I've planted the seeds 2 weeks earlier.
Posted by: easygardener | March 16, 2008 at 06:19 PM
The pigeons have helped themselves to most of mine but I've got lots of kale sprouting now and I think it's just as good.
Posted by: miss hathorn | March 19, 2008 at 06:59 PM
I had one die on me about two months ago. Just keeled over after a frost. Unfortunately it was the only one I had (I couldn't spare the space for any more) so I'm resorting to buying the overpriced stuff in Tesco's this year. Different varieties of PSB mature at different times from December to April, so it's possible you had a late type. Or maybe that the winter hasn't been cold enough to set it off.
Posted by: Rebsie Fairholm | March 21, 2008 at 07:59 PM
Mine is still awaiting to sprout. It's a very big/healthy looking plant, but no flower buds on it yet. I'm hoping it's a late variety, otherwise it will have to come out end of April, to make way for carrots and salsify!
My Romanesco Broccoli was harvestable in February, which might be a very bad sign, as these were supposed to autumn harvested! Here's hoping the PSB behaves, otherwise it'll be on the compost before it does anything -- can't waste that space for two whole years, it can't be that good?
Posted by: SquareFootHammer | March 28, 2008 at 04:01 PM