Topic: Purple non-sprouting Broccoli

[kentishchloe]

Hmmmm - was going to evict my poor specimens (small with no sprouts but they are purple!) but after reading this I may just give them a couple months grace - it's my fave fave veg so I suppose i should give it the benefit of the doubt. Ok, sixty days notice of eviction...you've been warned!

[dingerbell]

Glad it's not just me. The plants are soooo high maintenance. Initially it was the ravaging caterpillars then every Pigeon in the neighbourhood decided that my plants were "open season". I covered them in netting and the bl***y sky rats decided that they could now roost on the netting and chomp away at their hearts delight. I've had enough, it's Pigeon Pie for dinner. Let's see how they cope with half an ounce of lead up their backsides. ;D

[supersprout]

Purple happenings ;D ;D ;D

But no sprouts >:(

[Hyacinth]

Sprout, That's what I meant by 'hedge size'  ;D but only my nine-star achieved it. My 'normal' p/s stayed, well....normal, like.

Anyone else also grow white sprouting? Mine produces earlier than my purple.

[tim]

supersprout by name, supersprout by deed!

Yes, Lishka - much nicer than purple, but a bit less hardy.

[Hyacinth]

Praps not much nicer Tim? But delicate and just that bit ealier........shurely no-one would deny a place for it?

[flowerlady]

Tim I am so looking forward to growing white sb, I have followed your comments over the past six months and bought some seed  ;D 

so it had better strut it's stuff   ;D

[tim]

Lishka - deny a place? - it's our mainstay!

[Hyacinth]

Lishka - deny a place? - it's our mainstay!

It's the others you have to convince Tim, not me :o 8)

[stuffed]

I have three plants - very top-heavy due to caterpillar damage last summer - BUT they are just starting to sprout and I can see the small purple heads. I've had to shore up the plants, but it looks like I will get quite a good crop.
They take up so much space in my tiny plot that I've decided not to grow them this year.

Snap, getting very impatient now ::)

[supersprout]

My crop came suddenly two days ago - both white and purple, yaaay! :D

[tim]

So much depends upon whether you (all) have early or late varieties & whether you sowed at the beginning or end of the 3 month bracket?

[Hyacinth]

My crop came suddenly two days ago - both white and purple, yaaay! :D

Neat avatar, Sprout 8)

[bellebouche]

From out of nowhere... in literally just a couple of days.. my non-sprouting broccoli has reformed it's wayward behaviour.

Sprouts everywhere, immature and about the size of a 50p piece but it's definately just starting to happen. I'll hang fire for a couple of days and then post back a photo.

Patience rewarded at last

[Hyacinth]

Yeah! Bellebouche, you'll be a convert to sprouting this time next week :D

[supersprout]

I have to go away for a week just as the purple sprouting is coming :'(! Taking a big bag with me. As luck would have it, one of my lottie neighbours came over and we chatted for ages (his apricot tree is in full blossom and I offered to lend him some fleece for next week). He dumped seven bags of spent hops on my lottie, and agreed to prune the broccoli whilst I'm away. What a kind chap!
 ;D ;D ;D

[Rosyred]

As they take a year to mature would you put these in after the early potatoes have come up?

[tim]

Why not??