Romanesco cauli/broccoli?

[smallblueplanet]

Has anyone grown those 'fractal' type Romanesco cauli's? What do they taste/grow like? Are they cauli's or are they broccoli?

[supersprout]

Yes sbp - by accident, I was given some 'cauliflower' seedlings by a lottie neighbour!
Fine - more like brocc than cauliflower IMO - the texture is firmer than cauli.
No idea, expert please!

They are a pretty brassica, but if I grow them again it'll be another happy accident

[smallblueplanet]

So SS you wouldn't recommend growing them again? Why not please? I am still undecided about whether to get some seed and our growing space is limited.

[supersprout]

Only because we don't eat much cabbage except purple sprouting broccoli, the occasional cauli and Chinese cabbage. I set 6-7 seed of cauli 'all year round' every two or three weeks in the growing season, which more than satisfies family demand. Romanesco is a beautiful plant, but it just won't get eaten! Instead of hearting cabbage we grow couve tronchuda, a primitive loose leafed cabbage (much loved in Portugal) from which we harvest individual leaves from June through to April



- three plants are enough to supply us all winter long!

[smallblueplanet]

Thanks SS.

Slightly ott, how do you protect your brassicas (ooh err!)?

[supersprout]

I set aside one bed for brassicas and use fine mesh covers, pegged down with long wire staples at the side. This photo was taken when I grew a whole bed of cabbage by mistake, but shows the trusty tennis-ball-and-cane method

[smallblueplanet]

Yeah, we've used a very similar method in the past. Last year was a total disaster brassica-wise, so I think we'll be returning to homemade enviromesh 'cages'.

Nice photos btw.

Out of interest how do you mistakenly grow a whole bed of cabbage?

[supersprout]

Thank you sbp
LOL <ashamedsmiley> cabbage plug plants were 5p each at the nursery shop
www.organicplants.co.uk
I didn't protect the couve tronchuda at all because the plants were on the end of a bed. They were chewed to fragments by Cabbage Whites in the summer, but had recovered beautifully by October.

[Kathie]

"but shows the trusty tennis-ball-and-cane method"

I was intrigued with this-- What do you do?- Is it a tennis ball at each end of the upright cane and another cane into same tennis ball and then do I put the Fleece over this?
I am still learning!--

[supersprout]

hi kathie, yes, it's as simple as that. I use tennis balls from the Poundshop, slice a hole in them, and stick canes into them. Then the mesh goes over the top (I rarely use fleece) to protect them from egg laying Cabbage White butterflies, and the edges are pinned down with metal staples (shape of a U with long legs - you can make them out of wire coat hangers). This year I'll experiment with alkathene (wide bore) pipe hooped over short sticks to see how that works. The tennis ball method worked for me - if you google 'build-a-balls' <keeps straight face> they are a similar thing, but cost a small fortune

[Lesley Jay]

You can also use empty mineral water bottles on the end of upright cane sticks to stop the netting falling down the canes.

[Snadger]

You can also use empty mineral water bottles on the end of upright cane sticks to stop the netting falling down the canes.

Or even small plantpots or plastic cups!

Here's another hint, when I visit the lottie I usually buy a few cup-cakes to have with my coffee.(they're exceedingly good!) They come in little aluminium holders. Any cane in the lottie with a dangerous looking end gets a holder pinched onto the top of it! Stops you poking your eyes out, and the reflective surface acts as a bird scarer!

[smallblueplanet]

You can also use empty mineral water bottles on the end of upright cane sticks to stop the netting falling down the canes.

Interesting idea LJ, thanks. You could also make holes in them to support the 'long-ways' canes? Hmmm.............

[Bex]

I've bought some Romanesco seeds back in the autumn as it looked pretty, I'm very compulsive when it comes to buying seeds. Bought some netting today to protect my brassicas, it was only a couple of quid from Wilkinsons. I was going to use canes and yoghurt pots.

[smallblueplanet]

I'm also compulsive about seed-buying, I especially like buying 'foreign' seed packs (seems exotic!).

What type of romanesco are they, and from where?