Purple sprouting broccoli

[andyp]

Hi
I have grown PSB for the first time and did not know to pinch out the tops
to encourge side shoot grow. I now have just one small central broccoli bunch,
have I left things to late ?

I am thinking about pinching out this one bunch ASAP and giving the plants a sea weed feed after a lean winter, in the hope to spur on some growth.

Any comments ?

Rgds Andy

[nemo]

hello andyp
usually once you cut off the central broccoli bunch this is when the side shoots start to grow very fast give it time psb needs a lot of time . i am no expert just beginning but this usually happens
regards nemo

[bluemoon]

Usually you get a central head which is a bit like the supermarket green broccoli to look at (except that obviously it's purple) Once you've harvested and eaten this leave the plant in the ground and it will produce side shoots. Try to use the central heads as soon as possible as leaving them for too long can cause the plant to bolt.

[sewer rat]

Just pinch out the central head and the side shoots will start to sprout failrly quickly. Don't be tempted to let the central head get too big (as in calabrese - what yer supermarkets call broccolli) or the plant will bolt. It's not too late - my early PSB is just ready for picking starting tomorrow.

[Cutecumber]

It seems that different varieties behave slightly differently - I had to take the central head from Red Arrow (March-April heading) to get it to sprout but my Garnet (Dec-Feb) and Claret (March-April) plants produced side shoots at the same time as the central head. Weird but wonderful.

Sewer rat - your early PSB is what I call my late PSB!

[nelliegemini]

I've been cropping off and on for a couple of months, I have two plants but I didn't realise how much room they would take up or how long they would be in the ground. In my tiny patch they are a bit too much of a soil/room investment, and I didn't realise how tall they would get, one fell over and is still cropping horizontally. (Yes I know I should have dragged it upright and staked it but the weather was horrid, and I didn't think it was going to produce anything so left it).

The crop has only really 'taken off' in the last fortnight, up til then it was short stemmed and stringy, and I didn't realise I had to pinch out the middles.

So, is there such a thing as a short, bushy psb?

[Eyren]

Most leafy/sprouty brassicas are pretty big - I didn't bother with them until I had an allotment, as they weren't a good use of my garden space.

If you want something similar but smaller and quick-growing, try here (scroll down to the Rapini section):

Vegetable Seeds: Broccoli or Calabrese, & Rapini

[nelliegemini]

Thanks for that Eyren.

I've been, I've seen and I've ordered. Unfortunately they have a minimum order amount, it's very low but since the seeds are so amazingly inexpensive I've had to order:

a yellow carrot
a red sunflower
wierd peas
and the 40 day Rapini

Dear oh dear, what fun - odd veg to grow

[Cutecumber]

Nellie - you can grow psb in the summer and these plants are a bit smaller.

When growing for winter, they are all pretty big. Don't enourage upward growth by over-doing the heat during early growth. Make sure that they are grown hard - not too much fertiliser - and in the lightest position you can find. I would recommend staking as soon as you plant them out.

They may take up a lot of room, but they are £9.95 a kilo in Sainsbury!

[spud57]

[QUOTE=Cutecumber;203986]Nellie - you can grow psb in the summer and these plants are a bit smaller.

When would you sow these Cutecumber? Am I too late this year?