I heart my neighbours – and broccoli
My attempts to grow broccoli this year were one big flop – they all went to seed during the hot spell in April.
My attempts to grow broccoli-substitute rapini were also a big flop – they went to seed too (although since they only need about 45 days to grow, I might be able to squeak out another try of those this year).
Then yesterday, I bumped into one of our dog-walking buddies while out with Lily-dog. We’ve been walking the round hound in the evening recently so haven’t seen him for a good few weeks, perhaps a couple of months. We chatted growing successes and failures this year, and he mentioned he had some spare broccoli – already in pots and starting to bud – and would I like some?
I said I would – expecting a few little seedlings. He dropped four of these bad boys off yesterday afternoon.
You know that empty bed I mentioned the other week? Empty no more!
I don’t really have any plants to share at this point but I think a pack of eggs, some freshly made lemon curd and whatever else I can conjure up will be heading his way soon.
Thanks neighbour!
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Taking Stock – May 2015
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Making a little more progress at the allotment
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Allotment, end of round 1 (ding ding)
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Yay, allotment!
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Taking stock – June 2014
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Do it better
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Taking stock: a ‘what I’m up to in my absence’ meme
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Attack of the Crochet Claw
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How I spent my Tuesday afternoon
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We *heart* books too (warning: picture heavy post!)
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Portion control
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Baking things that'll last
I heart your broccoli…yummiest food ever !
I’ve given up growing broccoli in the summer. It either goes to seed (as yours did) or gets munched by caterpillars before I’ve had chance to taste it. I’m a convert to the early flowering types now – sow in June/July, plant out Aug/Sept and then happily harvest from January onwards.
My mother always used to use a clothes peg to hold all the leaves together to protect the head. She had very few go to seed. This was always done with cauliflower too. My sucess rate with this technique was mixed, but the cauliflower always stayed white and my broccoli was always nice and dense.
We’ve had oodles of Broccoli, sorry ;)
Never done the protection thing with them, nor used pegs, but we do fold leaves over cauliflower heads to protect them,
Tasmanian Minimalist: I’m not sure I’d quite go that far (cheese! chocolate! chillis!) but I do like it a lot more now than the younger-me would ever have thought I would!
Jules: I think I might give something like that a go next year. Any favourite types?
Karen M: that’s interesting. I’ll keep that in mind for the future.
Mo: oh you do make me jealous ;)
You do know after you harvest your head of broccoli, the plant will sometimes keep sending out shoots, or ‘mini heads’ to pick and harvest a while longer? My parent’s broccoli seems to, anyway.