Topic: And the first crop is -

[Digeroo]

Apart from lettuce, my first spring crops of the year is Sticcoli (a variety of broccoli).   Planted as little plants (inch square modules) just over 5 weeks ago it is now ready for first picking.  I will cover it with a cheese and cayenne pepper sauce.   Very little cheese.   

Then apparently you feed them and you get more and more.   

[grannyjanny]

Congratulations Digeroo. Enjoy muchly .

[patchworkperson]

Sounds delish!!

[tricia]

Sounds interesting - I love broccoli but the normal size plant would take up too much space in my small garden. How much space does the Sticcoli take Digeroo? It would be good to hear if it really does produce sufficient side shoots to make it a worth while venture next year.

Tricia

[Nigel B]

Sounds great.
Today I picked my first Kale plant  I pre-cooked some mincemeat combined it with a couple of early onions and garlic and a few flakes of last years dried chillis.     
The cleaned and roughly chopped kale was added a couple of minutes before scoffing the lot and having to make my son a bacon butty.

[chriscross1966]

Had the first crop of green beans this year.... next year I must remember to make at least two sowings of Speedie.... though if I run out before the Cobras start I can go back to the frozen ones from last year I guess... started in small modules in Late February/early March in the hotbed, planted out into a trough about mid April and picking at the start of June.... and the first of the finger carrots from deep pots too, and over-wintered onions... a couple were looking a bit wilty adn I correctly guessed that white rot had got to them... rest of the crop looks OK, adn it had only affected the outside layer.... Having been so behind cos of the weather I did start a load of what I consider "outdoor" crops off in the GH and kept them there.. result is the earliest salads radishes (which worked really well) carrots and beans I've ever had...

[cornykev]

Some of my Winter onions are ready, Rhubarb is my only other crop I've harvested but the spuds are nearly there.   

[Digeroo]

Grew it last year and was very pleased, it produced about three crops and then suddenly died.  I am told that if I feed it more this may not happen. 

They are not small particularly plants.  After only 5+ weeks they are 18 inches high (500mm) and planted 15 inches apart was far too close and they have been touching for some time now.  Probably need two feet.   They grow like Topsy.

They have been well fed but will get some more after each picking as per my advice from plants man.

For small broccoli have you tried Kabuki they are smaller plants and do produce repeat pickings? They seem to produce more broccoli and less leaf.   Not quite as speedy as Sticcoli.

I have forgotten my overwinter onions they have got smothered in goose grass while I was on hols.

Love the sound of your beans Chris, I must get some sown earlier next year.

[galina]

Congratulations all - some super early crops.     We are enjoying mangetouts, apart from chard and lettuce and other salad greens.  There are flower buds on the early potatoes -  firkling soon 

[Nomspatch]

Courgette...well surprised for here too...(apart from salad stuff lettuce, radish, chard) have been drinking peppermint tea for the last couple of weeks fresh from the garden...

[antipodes]

Heavens, perhaps our weather has been better than i thought! I have just started the early spuds but we have already been eating rhubarb, strawberries, lettuce, mizuna, swiss chard and the globe artichokes!!! And we had some sprouting broccoli in April.

[Paulines7]

Late last summer I bought a pack of purple sprouting seedlings which were reduced at a garden centre and planted them up in a net cage.  The plants are now about 2-3ft high and I have been picking the sprouting since the beginning of April.  I have to wait about two weeks in between pickings but they really are worth waiting for.  Delicious