Has anyone grown this successfully from seed? Is it best started in modules and then transplanted?
QuoteHas anyone grown this successfully from seed? Is it best started in modules and then transplanted?
Yes, I grew it a number of years ago and didn't rate it very highly.
As I saw it; a plant takes up more or less the same space as the Cauliflower or Calabrese varieties I usually grow, so because the heads were not as big as my preferred Cauliflower or Calabrese varieties, I didn't bother growing them again!
But then again it is each to there own, so to answer your question;
I grew them like any other Brassica, which in my case is to initially use cell trays or punnets before potting up into 3" pots. See here;
http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/C/Calabrese/Calabrese.htm (http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Content/C/Calabrese/Calabrese.htm)
click on pics to enlarge
Thanks TeeGee. I have the seeds so may as well use them up.
I've grown it as plug plants bought in the local garden and pet store. Takes up the same space as a broccoli and I like the flavour but I decided, in the end, that you get a better crop from broccoli.
I like it because the texture is halfway between cauli and calabrese (assuming you don't routinely boil veg to mush). It also over-ripens more like cauli, which I think makes it less critical about when you pick it.
It also looks good on the plate - especially if you are a fan of Fibonacci/Mandelbrot.
I can't be definite about this (because the problem happens so rarely), but if you want a long season of picking I think it helps to grow early and late versions of all 3 instead of the early, middle and late versions of 1 or 2.
I have had cases where unusual weather has made all the 'timed' caulis - sown months apart - synchronise and cause a massive glut in a wide range of sizes (which is a nightmare - though I have high hopes that making a kimchi based on them will help next time).
I have seen the same happen with 'timed' calabrese - though it wasn't quite so pronounced.
I'm not saying it can't happen with romanesco but the 3 separate species have never synchronised with each other - YET.
Cheers.
I'm with Vinlander on this one, I find it much easier to grow, and keeps a bit better when ready.
Yes, I grow them and the whole family (ourselves, a son, a daughter, their spouses and six grandchildren) love them. I've grown them from seeds in modules and from bought seedlings. After starting to grow these, I've given up on caulis and calabrese.