Broccoli and Cauliflower Trials

[Mark_Thompson]

Obviously ymmv because I’m in a unique place. I wouldn’t recommend putting too much weight in my conclusions if you’re anywhere else.

Varieties that did poorly for me: Solstice, Santee, Natalina di Fasano, Amazing, Calabrese, Early Purple Sprouting (duh ), Di Cicco, Aspabroc F2 (no seed saving for me…) Pinetree Garden Mix.

Varieties that did well for me: Fioretto, Sun King F1, Piracicaba, Aspabroc F1.

Was a very wet month and a half or so, followed by an extremely dry month plus, with me watering overhead with sprinkler. Mild bug pressure, mild disease pressure. Biggest issue was just them not making flowers(?) the eating part. I took that to mean they didn’t like my climate.

Got another batch of varieties in the ground the other day. I’ll post conclusions from that one in a few months.

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[Tormato]

When do you take the brave leap to Romanesco types?

[GoDawgs]

Thanks for posting this. Beautiful cauliflower! Over time and varieties it seems that the Amazing does best for me in the cauliflower world. Still, with spring and early winter weather swinging back and forth between hot and cold it's rare when I have success with cauliflower. Ever hopeful, I still set them out though.

I've settled on Packman broccoli as the one that does best for me and Blue Wind does almost as well. Not much luck with the Di Cicco (really small heads) and Piracicaba (no heads formed at all). Green Magic sometimes works well, sometimes not. Same with Goliath. I've also learned to avoid any broccoli developed up north like Umpqua. They don't work here.

Packman broccoli is getting hard to find so this past spring I saved seed from it even though it's an F1. I thought maybe it's been around so long that maybe I could get some decent plants. I set out a dozen started from that seed late summer for fall use and then H. Helene came through and really tore those young'uns up. The damaged foliage got trimmed off and the plants got babied, eventually setting some heads but it wasn't a fair trial so I'll repeat it this coming spring.

[Mark_Thompson]

When do you take the brave leap to Romanesco types?

I’ve got a few Romanesco from Baker Creek in the next batch. Plants are the smallest of all the varieties currently. Hopefully they go good, the kids will be excited about them.

[AZGardener]

@GoDawgs Pacman was replaced with Castle Dome by the breeder. It grew well enough for me, but I can't compare since I've never grown Pacman. HTH

@Mark_Thompson Amazing cauliflower wasn't amazing for me either. The varieties that have worked best for me are Flame Star (lt orange/yellow) and Graffiti (purple). Twister (white) was ok but not as nice as the other two. HTH

[karstopography]

Aspabroc broccolini is super delicious. We roasted in a 425° oven what modest amount we had last night along side some filet green beans.

Better in my and my wife’s opinion than ordinary broccoli.

The aspabroc plants themselves don’t seem to be thrilled with the weather this autumn. Too warm, perhaps? Anyhow, something is causing trouble with the older leaves that isn’t an insect issue and doesn’t seem to be related to fertility. Some disease or physiological problem that comes on during warmer and more humid weather.

Hopefully, these plants will bounce back as we get into the heart of our winter.

[Mark_Thompson]

@karstopography When you say too warm, what kind of temps have you been seeing this fall? Aspabroc has done super well for me in winter 60-80 degree heat, and summer 70-85 degrees.

[karstopography]

@karstopography When you say too warm, what kind of temps have you been seeing this fall? Aspabroc has done super well for me in winter 60-80 degree heat, and summer 70-85 degrees.

That’s about where the temperatures have been at most, I don’t think it has been above 85° since the Aspabroc has been in the beds. Coldest has been around 35°, briefly at dawn. No detectable frost. Mostly, temperatures have been 50s-70s.

Might be something else besides the weather that is causing the issues. We just cut the first cutting of broccolini and the flavor is really great. Nuttier than regular broccoli. The new growth comes in looking good, but the older leaves are yellowing and unhealthy looking. I’ve been pruning off the older leaves. Hopefully, the Aspabroc will bounce back and produce some nice side shoots.

Whatever is going on with Aspabroc with regards to the yellowing, sickly leaves, the Green Sprouting and Ironman broccoli seem immune to the problem.

[Mark_Thompson]

Going to harvest this head today. This one doesn’t make the naughty or the nice list, have to grow it again before I decide. Variety is Miranda. There was one early head that rotted, and this one suuuuuper late head that’s beautiful.

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[JayneR13]

I have serious broccoli/cauliflower envy! I have yet to master either one, though in good years I can get a small head of broccoli along with some side shoots. Interesting that Calabrese seems to be a problem for others. Perhaps it's my problem too, and I should try something else!

I had a terrible last year for brassicas. The rabbits ate most of mine, and the replacement plants were OK but not stellar. It was too late in the season to find replacement broccoli. The cauliflower was forming nice heads until the squirrels ate them, and what was left rotted. I saw a squirrel jump my 3' chicken wire fence only yesterday in fact, a problem I'm giving some thought to! My original cabbage seedlings never did recover from the bad seed starting media, nor did the kohlrabi. I got leaves from the former but no heads, total enough along with the nine replacement plants for 1 quart jar of kimchi. The kohlrabi are edible but misshapen and small. It was a hard year. The Brussels sprouts were the closest I had to successful brassicas. At least I had enough for a couple of meals! None to freeze though.

I'll try again next year! Good fortune often favors the persistent.