Local nursery bargain?

[Mrs Ava]

Just had to pop to the local nursery to get some more compost (will it ever end this seed sowing and potting up) and I noticed they had trays of different veggies.  Of course, very hard for me to resist so I acquired 40 purple sprouting brocolli for 4 pounds and 40 caulis for 4 pounds.  A bargain?

[Mrs Ava]

[sandersj89]

They could well be.  ;D

One small word of warning though, if they are bare rooted plants it is impossible to check if they have been grown in club root infected soil. And you do not want club root I can tell you!

If in pots of compost they should be fine though.

Probably a bit early for bare rooted plants yet so I am sure you are OK!

Jerry

[Mrs Ava]

They aren't bare rooted Jerry....to be honest, I wouldn't be brave enough to go down that route!  They have come in those completely un-enviornmentally friendly polestyrene trays, which will be broken up and used as crocks in the bottom of my big pots.  Club root is already marching around our site, I think it is why my red cabbages have failed this winter.  Rhubarb in planting holes I think!

[sandersj89]

Excellent.

I have club root and hate to see others suffer the same, at least I have no onion white rot!

And recycling the trays is an great idea!


Had the first pick of rhubbarb at the weekend from crowns planted 18 months ago....yummmmmmmmmmm

They will be big enough to use for club root prevention as well this year!
;D
Jerry

[grawrc]

Is it the leaves you use for this?

[sandersj89]

Is it the leaves you use for this?

For club root prevention?

It is said an inch or two of  rhubarb stem placed under the brassica prevents club root, will be trying this year.

Another idea is a bay leaf or two.

Jerry

[Doris_Pinks]

40 of each????? Are you mad??? ;D ;D ;D  Hope the family love purple sprouting and caulis!! ;D  Good bargain, well done you.
Mind you, if they hate em, you could always sell em on E-Bay!!! ;)

[busy_lizzie]

Looks like you will have to get another allotment EJ.  :D busy_lizzie

[Mrs Ava]

hehehehe ;D  Thing is, my sister will have a couple for her veggie tub in her garden, and I always assume losses thanks to Mother Nature and all of her slimey crawley salad munchers, and her flying rodents, so, I figure, out of 40 plants, I will end up with between 25 and 30.  Still, a lot huh.... :-\ neighbours will start avoiding me this summer because of broc rather than courgies!  ;D

[RSJK]

They could well be.  ;D

One small word of warning though, if they are bare rooted plants it is impossible to check if they have been grown in club root infected soil.


Jerry

Jerry I remember reading a report last year sometime on a agricultural page on the internet that some of the experts thought that growing brassica plants in seed trays was one of the main courses of the spread of club root. Unwashed seedtrays were being blamed for it.

[sandersj89]

That is interesting Richard. I was always told to stay away from bare rooted as you can check the source where as compost grown should be OK.

I can see unwashed trays being a risk but those modules that Emma has should be OK as I assume they have not been reused??

I raise my own stock each year but with club root in my soil I do struggle to  some extent, there are club root tollerant varieities around now that I am trying, Trixie calabrese did very well last year for instance and I am trying a cabbage called kalixy this year.
Jerry

[RSJK]

Like you Jerry I raise my own stock, up to yet had no promlems, touch wood.  I think,I will ask my Dad to confirm it ( most of is life in market gardening ) that if you are going to have club root it will show up early on the plants where they are being raised. Not 100% sure if that is correct but as I say I shall ask my Dad.

[Mrs Ava]

Well, to join my cauli and broc plantation  ;D today I priced out 16 red sprout plants, 16 green sprouts plant, 12 savoy cabbages, another 8 caulis and have about 40 kohl rabi still to do!  Must do more cabbages and my kale is yet to germinate!  Might need to invest in some new seed as the kale seed is a few years old....well...who needs 1500 kale seed per year!

[Multiveg]

I am not going to overdo it on the brassica front, though could do with sowing a couple more pointy cabbage as these were absolutely gorgeous, delicious and perfect. Think there may be a picture of said pointy cabbage on me blog somewhere.
Sprouts - I had about 5 varieties of them (T&M didn't help as it were with buy 1 (or was it 2) and get XYZ variety free for last year).
Got a feeble looking purple sprouting in the garden, lanky and that, - the top has just been erm, grazed off whilst still attached to the plant. I picked side-shoots and my son munched them. Considering one year that he turned his nose at home-grown calabrese for shop-bought stuff.