Last year I grew Broccoli purple sprouting and I’m sorry to report that for me, these were a total disappointment. They’re still planted in the ground, and I’ve not had a single sprig off of any of them in the past 12 months. It won’t be long before I dig these out and place these on the compost heap. The year before I grew broccoli Green Magic and the results were quite outstanding – so I’m going back to growing them for now.
Broccoli Green Magic offered a good yield and were low maintenance – perfect for growing at the allotment. Much like the cauliflower ‘All of the year round’, I’ve decided to start these off inside of the cold frame – again I’ve averaged around four seeds per cell. Green Magic Broccoli was created by the botanists at the Sakata Seed Co-orporation in 2003-2003 and has been developed to survive western growing conditions.
Growing Broccoli at the allotment or in your own back garden is easier than you think. I filled up a polystyrene planter with some multi-purpose compost, pushed the cells with a block of wood and carefully dropped four seeds into each cell. Cover with more multi-purpose soil and don’t forget to water.
Broccoli seeds look a lot like cauliflower seeds, so be sure to label your planters correctly to avoid any confusion. That said, I’ll be inter cropping these with the cauliflower as the mixture of scents helps to reduce any problems with pests and diseases.
I suffer with quite a bit of flea beetle at the allotment and I’ll hopefully be tackling and solving the issue this year.
Recently, cancer-fighting compounds have been found in broccoli and is arguably the most nutritious of all the brassicaceae. I can’t wait to harvest these and try out some new recipes in the kitchen. Fresh, tasty broccoli really helps to take your stir fry to another level.
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