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#1
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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 |
#2
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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 |
#3
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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 |
#4
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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 |
#5
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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 |
#6
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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 |
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