I've not grown early purple sprouting broccoli before and would appreciate any tips
from those who have including varieties/pests etc?

--

Anne Jackson wrote:

I would imagine that, being brassicas, the normal precautions
against club root and cabbage whites should be taken?

I did inherit some when I moved to this property, but it become completely infested
with cabbage white caterpillers, so I lifted them.
--

"Saxman" wrote
I've not grown early purple sprouting broccoli before and would
appreciate any tips from those who have including varieties/pests etc?

I'm no expert veg grower, but sprouting broccoli is one thing I have
grown for several years. It's a real treat when it's ready for picking -
which, having had a look at the plants basking in sunshine today, seems
to be any moment now. We did steal a few really early shoots and young
leaves about a couple of weeks ago. Heaven!

Treat broccoli plants like other brassicas i.e. prepare the ground by
digging in some compost or well rotted manure, plant deeply and firm
well in and give a bit of lime if your soil isn't over alkaline.
Broccoli can be subject to clubroot and also cabbage root fly. I use
protective collars round the stems when planting to try and prevent the
latter. It's an idea to stake the plants once they're bigger, as we find
that otherwise winter winds blow them over into drunken angles.

The two major pests IME are wood pigeons and cabbage white butterfly
caterpillars. If you don't net the plants, or keep the pigeons off in
some other way in winter, they'll strip your crop to bare stalks in next
to no time! In summer if you don't want to be checking for eggs and
caterpillars every day, you need a fine gauge net, fleece or enviromesh
to stop the butterflies getting on the plants. They can Houdini their
way inside ordinary small fruitcage-type net that you wouldn't think
they could squeeze through, as I have found out to my cost! However even
my worst 'net curtain' plants have revived with a bit of extra compost
and managed to reshoot eventually to give a decent crop.

There may be other varieties, but I grow mine from seed and as far as I
remember it didn't have any name except 'Early Purple Sprouting'.
--
Sue

Sue wrote:

"Saxman" wrote
I've not grown early purple sprouting broccoli before and would
appreciate any tips from those who have including varieties/pests etc?

I'm no expert veg grower, but sprouting broccoli is one thing I have
grown for several years. It's a real treat when it's ready for picking -
which, having had a look at the plants basking in sunshine today, seems
to be any moment now. We did steal a few really early shoots and young
leaves about a couple of weeks ago. Heaven!

Treat broccoli plants like other brassicas i.e. prepare the ground by
digging in some compost or well rotted manure, plant deeply and firm
well in and give a bit of lime if your soil isn't over alkaline.
Broccoli can be subject to clubroot and also cabbage root fly. I use
protective collars round the stems when planting to try and prevent the
latter. It's an idea to stake the plants once they're bigger, as we find
that otherwise winter winds blow them over into drunken angles.

The two major pests IME are wood pigeons and cabbage white butterfly
caterpillars. If you don't net the plants, or keep the pigeons off in
some other way in winter, they'll strip your crop to bare stalks in next
to no time! In summer if you don't want to be checking for eggs and
caterpillars every day, you need a fine gauge net, fleece or enviromesh
to stop the butterflies getting on the plants. They can Houdini their
way inside ordinary small fruitcage-type net that you wouldn't think
they could squeeze through, as I have found out to my cost! However even
my worst 'net curtain' plants have revived with a bit of extra compost
and managed to reshoot eventually to give a decent crop.

There may be other varieties, but I grow mine from seed and as far as I
remember it didn't have any name except 'Early Purple Sprouting'.
--
Sue

I netted mine, solved the pigeon problem, sorted the cabbage whites as
and when, the one thing that really messed them about was mice, had to
put our traps for them, caught 3 to 4 a day for a week, not as many
around now. I do however have to go and rebate the traps (peanut butter)
as the slugs eat it! Now it is my time! Lovely ( the purple sprouting,
not the peanut butter ;-) )

Saxman wrote:
I've not grown early purple sprouting broccoli before and would
appreciate any tips
from those who have including varieties/pests etc?

Like all brassicae, it's dead easy to grow; you just need to keep away
everything else that wants to eat it before you do!

The net cage suggested by another poster is more use against pigeons
than butterflies; cabbage whites seem to have evolved a teleportation
ability! I've learnt to just pick off the eggs and caterpillars as they
appear, which isn't that onerous on a nice sunny day. Pigeons will just
use brute force (see my complaint on another thread).

I use Nemaslug to keep the slugs at bay, and fortunately don't seem to
have any problems with cabbage root fly or club root. I just harvested
this year's first shoots and ate them today: lovely and sweet; I also
sowed next year's at the weekend. Mine says 'Early Purple' on the
packet, but named varieties include 'Rudolph', 'Bordeaux' and 'Redhead'
– the only named variety I've tried is 'Spike', which matures in the
summer after sowing rather than the following spring. It was a
disappointment: not only did it become ready at exactly the same time as
the beans and courgettes and peas and all these glutty things, but it
was actually rather bitter. Not recommended.

The message
from Rhiannon Macfie Miller contains these words:

Saxman wrote:
I've not grown early purple sprouting broccoli before and would
appreciate any tips
from those who have including varieties/pests etc?

Like all brassicae, it's dead easy to grow; you just need to keep away
everything else that wants to eat it before you do!

The net cage suggested by another poster is more use against pigeons
than butterflies; cabbage whites seem to have evolved a teleportation
ability! I've learnt to just pick off the eggs and caterpillars as they
appear, which isn't that onerous on a nice sunny day. Pigeons will just
use brute force (see my complaint on another thread).

It is quite possible to net against cabbage white butterflies; you
simply need a small mesh and preferably a framework which enables you to
keep the net clear of the plants. I use canes with those balls which
have holes in them.

Janet G