Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Purple Sprouting Early (brassica oleracea var italica from Kings Seeds)

It's best to transplant sprouting broccoli Dec/Jan, so I've sown some today, and will try to remember to do successive sowings.

Germinates in soil temperatures of 10-25°, sow 2cm deep, takes 7 to 10 days to germinate, then once they are 10-15cm tall (I'd noted down maybe 6 to 8 weeks, but that sounds pretty slow so perhaps I have that wrong) transplant 50cm apart and water in well. Like all brassicas, they need to be kept away from tomatoes and strawberries (and munching green caterpillars).

With these broccoli, you cut the central head when it appears, to ready the plant for the main action which is the side shoots from late winter through spring. Ordinary broccoli takes around 16 weeks to harvest point, but as you harvest that central head before it gets too big it should be a bit quicker than that.

I've had one of these heirloom broccolis by the letterbox since the end of May (yes, it originally had three friends but they didn't thrive), and maybe once a week I have to find and exterminate a tiny green caterpillar! The existing plant was originally sown in late March, took a couple of days to germinate, then sat around for far too long before transplanting. I'll be aiming to fill in the row so I have half a dozen at different stages.