elderly broccoli...?
 

hello!

last year in dead of winter, dh planted some broccoli seeds (out of season,
yes.) then we moved in september, so we dug the plants up & brought them
here to see what might happen. mostly, as you can imagine, it didn't work
too well - they got infested with aphids & bolted immediately, so i pulled
them out. one didn't bolt - it didn't really do anything - so i jsut left it
there & ignored it entirely, & it's still alive. i now see it's beginning to
flower(!), so i started watering it again, etc.

is this unusual? it seems really odd to me, but then i've never grown
broccoli before. i also can't imagine how it lived through a summer of
drought with no water to speak of whatsoever, and in a spot where it just
doesn't get more than a few hours of direct sunlight per day. but there you
have it, it appears to be thriving.

but my question is, is it unusual for a broccoli to act like a perennial or
something, like this? will they try to live until they've flowered or
soemthing kills them, no matter how long it takes?

i also can't work out how i can have such utterly miserable luck with peas,
which are supposed to be "easy", yet have a broccoli that simply won't die,
but there you are. :-) that's the never-ending thrill of gardening, i
suppose. g
thanks!
kylie

elderly broccoli...?
 

In article ,
"0tterbot" wrote:

last year in dead of winter, dh planted some broccoli seeds (out of season,
yes.) then we moved in september, so we dug the plants up & brought them
here to see what might happen. mostly, as you can imagine, it didn't work
too well - they got infested with aphids & bolted immediately, so i pulled
them out. one didn't bolt - it didn't really do anything - so i jsut left it
there & ignored it entirely, & it's still alive. i now see it's beginning to
flower(!), so i started watering it again, etc.

is this unusual? it seems really odd to me, but then i've never grown
broccoli before. i also can't imagine how it lived through a summer of
drought with no water to speak of whatsoever, and in a spot where it just
doesn't get more than a few hours of direct sunlight per day. but there you
have it, it appears to be thriving.

but my question is, is it unusual for a broccoli to act like a perennial or
something, like this? will they try to live until they've flowered or
soemthing kills them, no matter how long it takes?

It's an annual, and it's acting like one. Transplant stress and insect attack
caused the rest to bolt, but this one survived because it *had* more shade.
Vegies in Australia need less direct sunlight than you might think,
particularly in summer.

Now the weather is cooler, your broc has got the message that it needs to
reproduce, so is doing its thing. It will die when it has set seed. You can
leave it there and collect the seeds, if you like.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may
start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled."
Kerry Cue

elderly broccoli...?
 

"Chookie" wrote in message
...

It's an annual, and it's acting like one. Transplant stress and insect
attack
caused the rest to bolt, but this one survived because it *had* more
shade.

of course! (i didn't think of that).

Vegies in Australia need less direct sunlight than you might think,
particularly in summer.

everyone says 6 hours here too, though, don't they...? (or do i just read
too many english gardening books & i'm mixing my messages? g) however, it
clearly appears to be the case that at least one broccoli plant in teh wide
world only needs 2 or 3!! it's as big & healthy as anything (now)!!

here in canberra, the sun is even more powerful than home in the city (sob)
so i can see where that makes sense. how many hours minimum would you aim
for?

Now the weather is cooler, your broc has got the message that it needs to
reproduce, so is doing its thing. It will die when it has set seed. You
can
leave it there and collect the seeds, if you like.

i was hoping to eat it actually. it will be interesting to compare how it
goes, with the current-season plants to which we haven't done anything awful
& wrong (yet. g)

thanks chookie.
kylie

elderly broccoli...?
 

In article ,
"0tterbot" wrote:

Now the weather is cooler, your broc has got the message that it needs to
reproduce, so is doing its thing. It will die when it has set seed. You
can leave it there and collect the seeds, if you like.

i was hoping to eat it actually.

Didn't you say it had yellow flowers? If there are flowers, you've missed the
boat -- we eat the buds.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may
start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled."
Kerry Cue

elderly broccoli...?
 

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"0tterbot" wrote:

Now the weather is cooler, your broc has got the message that it needs
to
reproduce, so is doing its thing. It will die when it has set seed.
You
can leave it there and collect the seeds, if you like.

i was hoping to eat it actually.

Didn't you say it had yellow flowers? If there are flowers, you've missed
the
boat -- we eat the buds.

i meant, it is growing them now (the bits which we ultimately eat) - hence,
my post about it :-) (i believe i used the word "flowering", oh dear).
klyie

elderly broccoli...?
 

In article ,
"0tterbot" wrote:

Didn't you say it had yellow flowers? If there are flowers, you've missed
the boat -- we eat the buds.

i meant, it is growing them now (the bits which we ultimately eat) - hence,
my post about it :-) (i believe i used the word "flowering", oh dear).

My advice to you i to pick it and eat it -- leave it a day, and you *will*
have flowers!

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may
start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled."
Kerry Cue