Broccolini and Brasscias

I was reading an article or it might have been a gardening tip somewhere that suggested removing the seed leaves or the first set of leaves and planting your brasscias into the soil up to the base of the first set of true leaves, so here goes.




Cheers

Stewart.

Alright already.

What's getting planted over the next week.

• Lettuce seedlings x 8, 1 punnet of. Done
• Peas by seed. Not yet.
• Broccoli seedlings x 6, punnet of. Done
• Radish by seed. I'm working on it.
• Leeks by seed. Soon alright.
• Kale by seed. Done.
• Cabbage by seed. Done
• Sweet Pea seedlings x 8, punnet of. Done.
• Poppy seedlings x 8, punnet of. Done.

What's getting planted in your garden?

Cheers

Stewart

Nevele

Nevele/eleven

Walkies again this morning, but nothing as extravagant as yesterday.

Just around the big block to walk out some stiffness from yesterdays epic.

I found this nice reference to the number eleven while I was out so I took a photo and now here it is.






Stuart and Mabel street will mean nothing to anyone. It's just a photo I took to show I was there.













Oops, looks like it's the end of the road for me, but fear not fair maiden, for I have a plan.....umm, what was the plan again???

Ok so this is the top of North street that I refer too from time to time. And yes it is as steep as it looks.

As for the veggie garden we have rain predicted here for tomorrow and I am hoping it will hold off long enough for me to prepare for and plant (direct sow) some carrot, cabbage, cauliflower and brocolli seeds before it sets in.

Cheers for now

Stewart.


P.S. Happy Valentines day.

And I know why he had his head chopped off.

The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in the Nuremberg Chronicle, (1493); alongside the woodcut portrait of Valentine the text states that he was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius II, known as Claudius Gothicus. He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Helping Christians at this time was considered a crime. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner -- until Valentinus tried to convert the Emperor -- whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn't finish him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate. Various dates are given for the martyrdom or martyrdoms: 269, 270, or 273.^[8]

Wednesday walkthrough.

Hi all,
I just put new batteries in the camera, went for a walk around the garden and here are the results.

First off is the purple flowering broad beans which are doing quite well if I do say so myself.


Click on the photos if you want to see a bigger photo.



Next is the freshly sown onion bed. Not much to see, Just a nice photo of of some fresh soil, but can't you just see the potential?













I love a good yellow rose as much as the next person so here's one to share.














A small selection of dwarf and mini brasscias.
There's red cabbage, mini cauliflower and mini cabbage as well as a Broccoli.

All growing well thank-you very much.








This is the hard neck garlic which is the first time I've grown it and therefore have nothing to compare it to so I have no idea if it is growing well or not, but it looks good to me.










Baby cos lettuce, three in a row all ready to eat.

Luv this gardening.

Cheers and happy veggie gardening,

Stewart

The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Week 12ish.

The story so far.

14 Feb 2009 seed planted. Click here for full story












Nicely tucked away.












19 Feb 2009, up and running.
















26 Feb 2009, A bit slow to get going due to my poor choice of seed raising mix.
























18 Mar 2009, well this is where I left you, at the soil preparation stage. Click here for more on soil preparation stage.










The story continues.
22 Mar 2009. After the soil preparation it was time to plant Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. It was now or never because as you can see in the photos they were going nowhere in the potting mix I had them in.









Dig a little hole












and pop them in. Can you see that poor pathetic little Broccoli in the middle of the photo?













Well this is him/her now.

They have had plenty of help along the way with regular applications of fish emulsion, rooster booster, watering and mulching.

Ooh I just remembered I have to put on some Sulphate of potash. Looks like this afternoons job :0





















This poor little guy had all his/her leaves eaten off about four weeks ago and I kept hoping he/she would sprout again and it has so hopefully it can go on to fulfill it rightful potential on my dinner plate :)







I make that three months since I planted the seed so these guys should be about 2/3 of the way there.

I'll keep an eye on them and when something more interesting happens I'll get it up here lickety split.

Cheers for now and happy veggie gardening,
Stewart

The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Week One

The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Week Two

The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Week Three

The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Week Four

The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Last Friday

The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Last Friday

Click mouse over photo for larger photo and better detail.

Last Friday I did a little prep work for planting my Broccoli, 'Romanesco' and Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian'.

Being not entirely happy with their progress in the potting mix I decided it was bath time for these little baby's.
Just a half strength fish and seeweed mixture and a soak for and hour or two.




Talk about spoilt, I usually only give a half a bucket of compost, but these guys will get a whole bucket each.

Never heard of a plant that died from too much compost. Just ask the runaway pumpkin growing out of the compost pile.







Rooster Booster praise. Even the bag is bio degradable.
BFA Registered Product









A half a hand full per sq mtr should do it.












Just need some dolomite to help curb club root.











A half a hand full again.











Ready to turn in.










All turned in watered and ready for planting.

How do think they will go?

The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Week Four

Hi all,
Well I managed to get a whole 20mins of gardening in today before I ran out of puff, but in that time I managed to clear out the small bed that I have devoted to the planting and growing of, 'The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. '

The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Week One

The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Week Two

The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Week Three


I'd also like to mention that I planted the seed of, The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco', in straight potting mix (thinking I could save a dollar or two) all be it a good quality one, supposedly.

As you can see in the photo of the Broc and Caully they are not exactly the picture of vim and vigor so it's back to good quality seed raising mix for me.
If I had to pick a nutrient deficiency in the potting mix I'd say it is Nitrogen and if you look even closer you can see the seedlings have been using the stored energy in the first(seedling) leaves to keep them going.

Now if I can scratch up 20 mins tomorrow I'll be adding compost, chicken manure (Rooster Booster) and some dolomite and mix it all in ready for planting on Monday.

Also just a reminder that the winner for This little piggy went to market will be announced tomorrow.

Cheers

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The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Week Three

So far in:-

The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'.

The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Week Two

Not much happening here as you can see.

I suspect that after the seed has spent it's energy getting everything in place, that the next thing for it to do is to develop a root system that will support further growth.

Ones I planted a week earlier have developed a good set of first true leaves so by next week I'm hopeful to show more signs of progress.

Clicking on the photo opens up a larger photo which shows more detail.

'Sow', until next week it's good night from me and it's goodnight from him.

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The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'. Week Two

The end of week one or the beginning of week two, take your pick.

As you can see the Broccoli, 'Romanesco' and Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' have well and truly sprouted (fifth day after planting).

I have since pinched out the smaller or weaker seedlings where more than one seed sprouted and have given them there weekly dose of Fish emulsion.

All is looking good and I'll report again next week on their progress.

In the meantime here is what Green Harvest has to say about Broccoli, 'Romanesco' and Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian'.






Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian'
Brassica oleracea Botrytis Group

Syn. Cavolfiore di Sicilia Violetto; this Italian cauliflower is a vigorous plant with broad, green - grey leaves and a beautiful violet, compact 1-1.3 kg head. The head turns green when cooked and has a sweet mild taste both raw and cooked.
A higher mineral content is responsible for the colour.


Broccoli, 'Romanesco'
Brassica oleracea Botrytis Group

Romanesco broccoli is an Italian heirloom regarded as one of the world's most visually attractive vegetables. The lime green head illustrates a fractal pattern, with spiral conical florets within a larger spiral.
It can be eaten raw or lightly cooked, and has a nutty, slightly spicy broccoli flavour.

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The life and times of Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian' and Broccoli, 'Romanesco'.

Here I'll be presenting weekly updates about the growing, from their very beginning (seed), to their delicious end, of my two (hopefully) 'STAR', performers.

Presenting to you for the first time, from the mild temperate climes of suburban Toowoomba, Cauliflower, 'Violet Sicilian', and Broccoli ,'Romanesco'.









I've grown Caulies and Brocs before but not these varieties, but I've had Cosmic Garden give them the big thumbs up

As you can see in the photo it all started on the 8th of Feb 2009.

I planted them in 50mm tubestock pots using a local organic potting mix.

I find this (local organic potting mix)
a little low in nutrients therefore I'll also be watering them weekly with a half strength fish emulsion solution.




Soil preparation has already begun with lime, copious amounts of compost and fresh stable horse manure being added and turned into the soil. We've just had 25mm of rain on this so it should turn up really nice come planting time in 3 or 4 weeks time.

I'll be back out this coming Monday to record their progress.

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