Brassicas to grow

[Nicos]

But do you eat it?! Bought some to try and didn't like texture or flavour. Will stick to chard or is home grown better?

Absolutely Danny!
The leaf is thicker than chard .
We chop it fairly fine and steam it to have as a veg (having first removed the central stem).
We also chop it and quickly cook it in pasta water , remove it, then cook the pasta. It’s lovely all mixed in together with a tomatoey sauce.
Never bought it from a shop so can’t compare, but I’d guess it’d be sweeter as homegrown as all the other brassicas tend to be.

[nick the grief]

I grow 2 vareties of Cauli. All year round and 9 star perennial which you treat just like taunton deane Kale I used to replant it after about 5 years as it used to get to straggly. loads of small heads abit like white peurple sprouting if that makes sense. and All year round doesn't make the biggest heads but I don't need a 4 pound cauli !

Just remember most if not all brassicas need a firm soil that helps to stop them blowing.

[Bren In Pots]

But do you eat it?! Bought some to try and didn't like texture or flavour. Will stick to chard or is home grown better?

I use a lot of Cavolo Nero its nice steamed or used in soups and gratins. also it makes good crisps.

[annie8]

Really chuffed with my cauliflowers (Clapton) and red cabbage (rookie) so far. Almost all Germinated quickly in gh and growing on well in decent sized modules. Also got cavolo Nero seeds that I have just started inside and some Jerome cauliflower and red Russian for later sowing. Just wondering when I should be planting out the cauliflower and red cabbage seedlings. Can keep longer in the gh although on sunny days it is starting to get quite warm in there. Temps have been pretty low overnight and was thinking might wait a bit longer until soil heats ups bit more? Presumably I’d want to harden them off a bit anyway. Can use the cold frame to help with that.

[annie8]

A pic

[Mr Bones]

Another plus point for Red Russian is at this time of year the florets make very good eating, not too dissimilar to purple sprouting.

[Dorothyrouse]

My cabbages were really super last year, kept well covered, I also had great success with cauliflower! I know you won’t believe this, but apart from one, all the cauliflower grew into cabbages!! Yes honestly

[nickdub]

Purple sprouting broccoli is relatively easy and will give you something as a crop when there is not much else about.

[Snoop Puss]

My cabbages were really super last year, kept well covered, I also had great success with cauliflower! I know you won’t believe this, but apart from one, all the cauliflower grew into cabbages!! Yes honestly

That probably means the seeds were cabbage seeds. It does occasionally happen that seeds get wrongly labelled.

[annie8]

So red cabbages and cauliflowers out in the the beds and doing fine. Covered in netting. Has anyone planted their cavolo Nero out yet? They are looking fine and healthy and have been hardening them off. I just see things about planting them out in June? My gh gets hot and is also rammed at the moment, so think they might be better in the beds with some netting ?

[ameno]

So red cabbages and cauliflowers out in the the beds and doing fine. Covered in netting. Has anyone planted their cavolo Nero out yet? They are looking fine and healthy and have been hardening them off. I just see things about planting them out in June? My gh gets hot and is also rammed at the moment, so think they might be better in the beds with some netting ?

I've only just sown mine, but I don't think it actually really matters that much. Just plant them out when the plants are big enough. They're very hardy, and if they are getting large then you'll do more harm by leaving them in pots and allowing them to become pot-bound.
I'll also say that in late spring and summer pot-raised brassicas don't need to be under cover, and indeed may be best not if it gets too hot. For example, I start my purple-sprouting in pots in June, and the pots just stay on my patio until planting time.

[Bren In Pots]

Annie my cavolo Nero and dwarf kales have been outside for a couple of weeks I pop a cloche over them at night with the vents open and they're doing fine.
I'm planting them out once I've moved the brassica cage onto the next bed along, just now I've just got last years kale under it.

[Dorothyrouse]

I grew ‘Greyhound cabbage’, last year, and they were amazing, huge, kept under protection the whole time. Sprouts also very good. Broccoli was rubbish, and just one cauliflower!

[Mr Bones]

and just one cauliflower!

The best results we've had with caulis have been from F1 seed Dotty. Problem is, although they produce well the heads are all ready at the same time..

[annie8]

Planted the cavolo Nero out at the weekend so will see how it does. Both cabbages and cauliflower doing pretty well out in the beds. Did see that the cabbages are getting nibbled a bit though. Not enough to affect the plant but was wondering what the culprit might be?