Broccoli

[Gordonmull]

Hi folks

Having practically no idea about broccoli other than it tastes nice can someone point me in the right direction with a good variety/varieties to grow? I'm looking for the purple sprouting kind for a bit of tasty winter/spring scran.

Do I need a couple of varieties for succession or can i get away with just one?

There's two of us in the household so roughly how many plants should I go for?

Thanks again for your patience and i promise I'll stop asking questions as soon as I start eating things!

Cheers

Gordon

[Gordonmull]

[antipodes]

I grew a white sprouting type this year and it was very good. Got broccoli for a month, loads of it, and it has only now gone to flower and I have dug them up. I had 4 plants and that was loads for us (4 people). It was White Eye, got it in a swap. It started giving in March.

[Gordonmull]

Nice one antipodes. Now I have an idea of quantity. Cheers.

[Alex133]

I've grown purple sprouting, don't think it had a special name. Just 2 plants enough for 2 of us but don't eat vast amounts of it. They grow very, very large.

[Digeroo]

Rudolf produces crop before xmas.  Then there is late sprouting which extends the season.  The newer F1 hybrids produce large heads but I think the standard ones are more frost hardy.  T&M do a mixed packet of three varieties.

Depends on how much you eat.  I am on a very exposed windy site so they tend to die off over winter so I have quite a few plants, but we eat a large handful everyday.  And I give away quite a lot.

[winecap]

I'd say its definitely worth planting 2 or 3 varieties for succession cropping, but having said that my Rudolph cropped well from December to March. I also grew a white sprouting broccoli to follow, but half of it came and went while I was in France for 2 weeks. This is often a problem with later varieties - they come all at once if the weather turns too warm. I had broccoli for dinner and there is still more to come.

[Gordonmull]

OK so Rudolph for some pre-xmas goodness. Sounds great. Yum, yum fresh broccoli instead of sprouts!!!

I'm in Grangemouth, near Edinburgh, so I need cold tolerant varieties more than heavy croppers. Think I'll stay away from the hybrids!

We'll probably eat a fair bit. Calabrese is one of our fave veggies so sprouting broccoili will fit in just fine as a replacement.

Cheers for the input folks, might be best if I have a gander at what's out there based on your suggestions and maye post back for some feedback on what i think might be suitable.