It’s time for Harvest Monday, where we celebrate all things harvest related. It looks like my planting of purple sprouting broccoli in the greenhouse is paying off as expected. I cut several main heads from the Santee plants last week, along with a few side shoots that were already forming. I have plants of Rudolph that are starting to head up too, so I think we will have more broccoli to taste soon. I believe I have finally figured out how to grow PSB here in our climate, and it is a wonderful crop to have this time of year when fresh homegrown veggies are hard to come by.
Santee broccoli
And I cut enough of the Dutch heirloom Groninger Blue Collard-Kale for cooking last week. I got this variety from Nichols Garden Nursery, who got their seed from author and vegetable breed Carol Deppe. It’s one of her “eat all” greens that she grows to give her a year round supply of fresh and tender young greens. I let the leaves get quite large to enjoy them cooked, and they were very tender and mild. You can read more about her Eat All growing method in this Mother Earth news article. I grew these like I would any other kale or collard, setting out transplants about a foot apart in the greenhouse bed.
Groninger Blue Collard-Kale
We also enjoyed a bit of the lettuce I have planted in the greenouse. These are Salanova Green Sweet Crisp and Salanova Red Butter, two ‘one-cut’ type lettuces I have growing in containers. I have good luck growing lettuce in containers, which saves my limited bed space for growing things that have more extensive root systems like the kale and broccoli. I have quite a bit of lettuce ready now and I really need to get a plug tray planted with more seed so I have replacements for the next crop. Looking at my seed starting schedule, it will be time to start the spring brassicas next week as well, so it looks like I will be busy!
Salanova lettuces
Salanova lettuce growing in salad box
Harvest Monday is a day to show off your harvests, how you are saving your harvest, or how you are using your harvest. If you have a harvest you want to share, add your name and blog link to Mr Linky below. And be sure and check out what everyone is harvesting!
I’m jealous of your PSB Dave, our weather this year (and last year) has been unusually mild, but very wet and windy and the PSB is all small and very late : All the best – Steve
I’ve just read the article you linked to on Mother Earth News, very interesting, but always frustrating as few of the varieties are available in the UK. I also ready your 2019 veg list, what an incredible number of varieties you grow Dave, inspiring! : All the best – Steve
Do pigeons attack your broccoli?
I’ve got this broccoli growing in the greenhouse, but in general the birds leave most of my veggies alone.
Though our climates are very different, do you have any tips for growing PSB? I have a very large healthy plant in my garden with no signs of broccoli shoots. This has happened before. The Salanova looks very nice. I’ve thought of planting it. I’ve used other lettuce varieties for container growing which can be very efficient, especially in the warmer months when I can move the containers to the shade for part of the day.
I’m surely no expert in growing PSB, but I wonder if the variety you’re growing perhaps needs more winter chilling? I had good luck with Burgundy in the spring planting when it had no cold weather at all. Santee is the other one I’ve had good luck with. Other than variety, I’m not doing anything different for it than for any other broccoli I grow.