Hi everyone Im a complete novice so this may be a really stupid question....... :-\
I have grown some Purple Sprouting broc seedlings, they are about 2 inches high at the moment & will need potting on soon.
Anyway i have just realised that as I only have half a plot I really dont have the room for them on my lottie as they grow so huge & need so much space. Would I be able to grow them in individual large plastic pots until I have harvested my summer salad crops & then transplant them into my lottie?
Another member on here transplants them twice. He puts them out at close spacing during the summer when space is tight and in the autumn he puts them at their correct spacing when there is not much else still growing. This may be a solution for you.
I hope you don't mind me saying this RB but it does prove somebody reads your posts and takes notice ;D
Thanks redclanger for passing on this info. I may be able to find room on the lottie for close spacing.
We don't put ours out in their final positions until later... after the early spuds are out...
;D
I transplant mine several times without any problems. Make sure plants are well watered both before digging up and after replanting. There is no way I could let small plants have the mature spacing from early spring through the summer when the land could be growing something else. Brassica also tend not to do terribly well in pots and prefer to be in the soil.
You can sow them at the proper spacings and under or inter sow with things that will be eaten before they need all that space... such as Minicole cabbage or lettuce, radish, catch crops...
;D
I thought once planted you had to leave them in situ, so this has been very useful information for those of us with limited space - many thanks :)
I grew and eat this brocoli for the first time this year and if there is a better tasting veg then I haven't eaten it I am 70 and really disappointed I didn't find it sooner. Mind you last year was my first with an allotment.
Quote from: BillBarnes on April 10, 2008, 16:26:44t I am 70 and really disappointed I didn't find it sooner.
Me too... Butternut squash, disappointed I didn't find it sooner I mean, not 70 :o
I tasted it for he first time last year and I love it. Growing half a dozen plants full of it this year... At least I hope they'll be full.
It's my first year growing PSB this year, 24 plants enough?
How many are you feeding. I would have thought that for the average family that would be more than enough! You may have to net them or arrange to keep something covering them because the pigeons love PSB!
Old Bird
24 ought to be enough for you and your street! Bear in mind they take up quite a lot of room, so maybe half those would keep you in broc and not eat up all your allotment.
Quote from: bupster on April 10, 2008, 16:41:17
24 ought to be enough for you and your street! Bear in mind they take up quite a lot of room, so maybe half those would keep you in broc and not eat up all your allotment.
Have you seen the size of my plot? I've got three full sized, 10 rod, 325 sq Yd plots. I've just put my peas in at 12" spacing as I have so much space...
Seriously, I have plenty of room and we do eat a lot of veg. I have to grow for my Daughter's in laws as well so not a lot gets wasted.
Crikey again, I'll shut up. Do you underplant them too?
Quote from: bupster on April 10, 2008, 17:18:58Do you underpant them too?
Oh yes, clean ones on every morning.
Grow, say, 10 Early White followed by, say, 10 PSB. Otherwise you'll be giving it all away!
Contrary to my tomato growing habits, I only grow 3 overwintering PSB as I'm the only one in the family that likes it........I am eating bucketfuls at the moment! ;D
This is Claret - not overly large. That's WSB behind - much larger.
I find sowing later is the answer.
I work my sowing time back from when my early potatoes are ready because then I will have some spare ground.
I do this with all my overwintering varieties e.g savoys and winter cabbage.
It's the first time I've grown it so I didn't know what to expect. I read somewhere you need quite a lot for a feed.
When I sow anything I always ask the Missus "How much do you want?" and she always says "Lots". So that's what I do.
I'd agree with later sowing, I leave it till the middle of May
Don't be tempted to throw them away. This time next year you will be looking for veg!!
They are very hardy and you can put them in containers until you have space.
Any old bucket or container with holes drilled in the bottom will work for each plant.
So when do you sow, TG?
Indoors or out?
you can plant them out a few inches apart, anywhere you've got a little bit of space, then move them on to their permanent places later.
Are PSB typical brassicas in as much as they do better when planted in concrete? Or very firm at least.
QuoteSo when do you sow, TG? Indoors or out?
Mid to late May as a general rule, although this is not hard and fast rule, it often depends upon the seasons!
That is; if it is a late season (for whatever reason) and my earlier sown stuff is taking up space in my cold frames, I wait till I have got the bulk of this stuff planted out before sowing.
In fact to show how flexible I can be I have even been known to sow as late as July.
I germinate them indoors then pot them up individually into 3" pots until I have space ready for them.
Thanks PurpleHeather thats just what i needed to hear ;D
I will plant them in tubs until Ive harvested my potatoes then put them on my lottie.
Thanks, TG.
Quote from: Crystalmoon on April 13, 2008, 13:25:16
Thanks PurpleHeather thats just what i needed to hear ;D
I will plant them in tubs until Ive harvested my potatoes then put them on my lottie.
That will be fine. Just note that they do tend to get very leggy once planted out and I sometimes actually have to tie mine to canes over winter to stop them falling over.
You can eat the leaves as well as the purple sprouts and they steam well, which keeps the colour.
A cheese sauce. Like cauliflower cheese is nice and they also make a tasty soup with leeks and potato, the colour can be off putting though. Very Bridget Jones. But you could serve it at a dinner party as Bridget Jones soup. Alternatively if you have a lot. Try them deep fried tempura style with a garlic and mayo' dip as a starter. ENJOY
wow you have made my mouth water with these great recipe ideas Yum! ;D
The trouble I found with growing too many psb plants was that once its ready it dont stand at its best too long .. I have tried staggering sowings of over wintered psb but even with a month or 6 weeks intervals between setting it out it still sprouted at more or less the same time .
I managed to grow a decent load of psb a year ago, then got ill and bedbound just as they sprouted - so when I finally got back to the allotment 6 weeks later they were a mass of yellow flowers and I never got to eat a single one of the maincrops (and only a small sprout of the early). They subsequently went to seed.
I now have the payback. The whole bed is full of little seedlings which will do me and everyone else for miles around for psb plants for next season!
moonbells
Quote from: growmore on April 16, 2008, 09:48:06
The trouble I found with growing too many psb plants was that once its ready it dont stand at its best too long .. I have tried staggering sowings of over wintered psb but even with a month or 6 weeks intervals between setting it out it still sprouted at more or less the same time .
Because they have a long growing period, I think they tend to coincide if they're all the same variety. How about having one early and one late variety or are you doing that already? There are also extra early that are meant to sprout from November to February.
"Romanesco" is a good variety for autumn - winter harvesting :)
I'm trying Rudolph and Red Arrow - supposedly Nov/Feb and Feb/May respectively. Also Bordeaux F1 which is meant to harvest from July to Nov (but as I haven't sown any yet I think that would be a bit optimistic.)