It’s early autumn at Homeacres no dig garden. Long stems of Tenderettte and large domed heads of calabrese are cropping. And cauliflowers including white ones, and Romanesco later on.
I sowed them all on the same date of 21st June, including purple sprouting broccoli. That will not crop until next spring.
It’s important when sowing seeds, to understand these kinds of differences, mainly in when they come ready. Read the small print about when the plants you grow are expected to produce a harvest.
All these varieties are hybrids, which makes a worthwhile difference for broccoli harvests in my experience. Most other vegetables in my garden are not hybrids.
Just for comparison I show you some cauliflower, sown one week earlier in the middle of June and cropping now. It’s closely related to broccoli, but rarely makes any secondary harvests after you cut the main curd.
00:00 Introduction, and a brief recap of the summer’s weather
00:58 A bed of calabrese (broccoli), and how to assess readiness – I harvest one to demonstrate, it’s a hybrid variety, Marathon
04:01 Purple sprouting broccoli in the same bed, variety Claret F1
05:04 Pests that affect brassicas, incl. gall/swede midge, and how to protect them
06:27 Removing the lower leaves
06:54 Protecting against pigeons
07:19 A look at some cauliflower – White Excel F1 sown two weeks before the broccolis – and how to assess readiness
10:27 Tenderette F1 broccoli – I show a recent harvest and compare it with some tenderstem broccoli bought from a supermarket
15:20 A taste test between the two
16:51 Disease affecting plants, and caterpillars
19:05 Spraying Bascillus thuringienis
19:44 Outro
More details in my No Dig book https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/product/no-dig
From my website I sell a guide on growing broccoli https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/product/pln_broccoli-growing-guide-wffd0qyd
Filmed mid September 2023 by Edward Dowding, in my no dig garden in Somerset, UK.
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#nodig #nodiggardening #broccoli #sow #cauliflower
29 Comments
I love watching videos whilst I work – currently sorting out the last of the tomatoes. Yours are such a nuisance to watch 😀as I have to stop every few seconds to take notes!! Such gems of information in every word. Thank you for another great video – love the calming serendipitous music too.
Me encanta tu canal, recien lo descubri.
A pesar de que tenga que leer los substitulos, lo hago con mucha atencion.
Gracias!!
Thanks Charles. Broccoli is one of my favorite vegies. I had a main crop way back in May and June but left the plants in for sporadic side shoots over the summer. They died back pretty bad in August but I cleaned them up and put a layer of compost down, got the white flies under control and there are a lot of new shoots I'm hoping produce small heads later this month and Nov. Do you think the purple sprouting broccoli would survive a 6b/7a winter? Would love to have them in April when you're dying for some garden brassicas. We go down to the teems and maybe single digit Fahrenheit here in the winter so not sure they would make it.
0:13: 🥦 Charles shows off his broccoli Calabrese and discusses the impact of weather on vegetable growth.
3:26: 🥦 The video discusses the ideal time to harvest broccoli plants and the potential for a secondary harvest in October.
6:08: 🌱 The video discusses the use of covers in gardening to protect plants from pests and maintain their health.
9:17: 🥦 Cauliflowers should be harvested before they open out and become like broccoli stems.
12:22: 🥦 The video discusses the differences between homegrown and store-bought broccoli and the importance of the stem.
16:04: 🥦 The video explores the taste difference between store-bought and homegrown broccoli.
18:43: 🌱 Fresh green in early November is a blessing, as these frost-hardy plants can tolerate the first frost of autumn but won't survive the winter.
Recap by Tammy AI
great crops i must say well done
Only you Charles can make a 20min video on broccoli and keep me riveted 😍
I emptied the Johnson-Su today (thanks for reply to my comment on ur compost advice blog last July) it was filled with chipped green conservation hedge trimmings, judicious waterings + worms after thermo cycle, +LAB at ~10 months, result was 1.3 M3, not quite the biodynamic-esqe putty substance I've seen some produce, but not far off, more like a slightly woody peaty consistancy (another few months or extra N would have got to putty IMO) looked very good under the microscope, the most micro-arthropods I've ever seen in compost; next fill will include same mix with ~15% pure chicken poo (no bedding etc.). Great video, thanks for all you do Charles.
That looks like a beautiful book from a beautiful man with a beautiful garden. What's not to like about that?
Always happy to see Minty make an appearance 😊 even if she plants her rear end on the lamb's lettuce!
Thanks for taking down the water nonsense, that was odd
NO DIG !!!! BIG ON BROCCOLI !!!!! SMALL ON WORK !!!!!!!
In the netherlands and belgium its broccoli as well
How do I know when celeriac is ready to dig?
I really tried to avoid any powder/chemicals in my veggies but some bug had a feast! My cabbage, kale, broccoli and a long tub radishes had nothing left but a stem. It was the worse bug damage I have ever experienced.
yes, here in the US we call, Calabrese, 'Broccoli'. No idea why…guess 'we' just have to be different. 😉
wow your garden just looks amazing.. talking about caterpillars, i have a big problem with a small green one in salads.. they are on the earth and make a little hole in the neck of the stem and the plant dies.. what can i do? thanks a lot
Grazie Charles ,ti seguo sempre ,il tuo modo di coltivare lo trovo meraviglioso, i tuoi consigli sono preziosi,vorrei comprare i tuoi libri ,saranno tradotti in italiano?
I bought some broccoli growing this season … cooked it in lots of raw 100 % grass fed butter with sockeye salmon…yum 🙌
Thank you for saying American words and Fahrenheit 😊
What a tiny little oven 😊
Beautiful garden Charles, I am amazed everytime! Blessings💕🤗
Wasps are great at hunting down the caterpillars. I discourage the spraying of wasps in my garden
Question. My grand (of the victory garden generation) said that you have to tie the leaves together to make the cauliflower head more compact. Doesn't sound like he was correct was he? Do you have to do that?
First time I've ever heard a dog barking in one of your videos. Congratulations 😂
Is there a trick to planting broccoli so it stands straight up? Mine almost always lay down and they grow up making their stem somewhat crooked and the bed with them looking unsightly. Should I maybe plant them deeper?
i think the sweetness is the gas in the gas they store it in. i been even eating the lower leaves of all sorts and when even woody a stow cook can sort that. I found that the higher up leafs/ stem are full of the flavour not sweet but not bitter or that lower i cant work out what it is carbs but not like bread or spuds comes with some sugers and even if an earth like plant or tuber will be like a real filler. Oh for cooking if you not need to peel it dont as that binds it all together and omg the fun. I also believe you consume less in food but with the energy of a bull . i would like to know more on how the interactions of the Safe plants leafs, fruits and tubers how they interact in my body and my health .
Mushrooms! I want to start the adventure myself but I am in the pre-contemplation phase. I have plenty of shade and I’d eat them daily if I could.
I tried the variety off both Calabrese and cauliflower you mention here and in your book and I'm still finding them one veg I struggle the most with. slugs have been a huge issue for me as have caterpillars ( still finding the later now in my polytunnel and the few remaining outside plant) what ever I do cover wise they always seem to get in. they also always seem to go from not quite ready to opening up within days or I find them rotting 🙁
the information per second ratio on all this man's videos are simply amazing, thank you for the incredible work