I planted seed of Rudolph variety purple flowering broccoli in March.They have grown,but most of them have grown to about 15cm and have yellow flowers--the shorter one haven't.Should I discard the ones with yellow flowers?
I'd favour sowing them a little later next time. They need plenty of space and plenty of water so they don't "bolt" (ie flower prematurely), which they do as a result of stress - they say "help, I'm going to die, I must flower and produce seed before it's too late!" What you want is a number of large, sturdy plants to survive the cold and produce you lovely sprouting broccoli next November (if you're lucky) to March. The short, unflowered plants you have now should be transplanted to about 75cm apart. They like quite rich soil and firm planting so they don't rock in the wind.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Liriodendron said it all. I can only add, that I grew sprouting broccoli for years and can't make head or tails of them. Sometimes they work wonderful and somtimes they go over like PUFF! Don't be discouraged. Try again, giving them the best conditions, as per Liriodendron's post. Some years they do splendid, and rward you ten times over.
Posts
Yes they've gone over.
I'd favour sowing them a little later next time. They need plenty of space and plenty of water so they don't "bolt" (ie flower prematurely), which they do as a result of stress - they say "help, I'm going to die, I must flower and produce seed before it's too late!" What you want is a number of large, sturdy plants to survive the cold and produce you lovely sprouting broccoli next November (if you're lucky) to March. The short, unflowered plants you have now should be transplanted to about 75cm apart. They like quite rich soil and firm planting so they don't rock in the wind.
Liriodendron said it all. I can only add, that I grew sprouting broccoli for years and can't make head or tails of them. Sometimes they work wonderful and somtimes they go over like PUFF! Don't be discouraged. Try again, giving them the best conditions, as per Liriodendron's post. Some years they do splendid, and rward you ten times over.
cut off the flowers and you might get a second flush, but I've always grown PSB as an overwintering crop, not during the summer.
Thankyou for all the advice--very helpful