Calabrese

[roitelet]

For a couple of years I have tried to grow calabrese. The plants do fine but only produce very small heads. The soil is in good heart and everything else in the brassica family does well.

Can anyone tell me the secret please?

[marchogaeth]

How small is a small head? I think I read somewhere that garden grown ones are not usually anything like the size of most in the shops although I'd have to say mine are. For what it's worth water and pee are what work for me but if all your other brassicas are fine then that's probably not the answer, either.

[leonmc0708]

Cut the main head once it forms and the side shoots are the ones - you will get 6/8 weeks of these beauties.

[kathyd]

Are you saying the side shoots grow bigger than the main head leon? My side shoots are more like sprouting broccoli size! But then my main heads have been small too, like roitlet's.

[roitelet]

The heads are about the size of a wine glass and there are no signs of side shoots. I have just put some more in the tunnel so will try feeding them and see if it makes a difference. If not for the amount of space they take up they are not worth it and I will grow something else.

[Snadger]

As long as you have a freezer F1 hybrid varieties are the way to go. They all come at once though.

I grow F1 Belstar and have good results!

[Potstubsdustbins]

I grow Green Magic 9 to the square metre and have good results with a good main curd and loads of side shoots. The only down side as Snadger said is they all come in short space of time.

1st pic is the florets of one plant, the second to give an idea of how big the curds are.

Potty

[kathyd]

The heads are about the size of a wine glass and there are no signs of side shoots. I have just put some more in the tunnel so will try feeding them and see if it makes a difference. If not for the amount of space they take up they are not worth it and I will grow something else.

My head's like a wine glass too roitlet (hmmm.. ) - but you should get shoots if you chop it's head off. And I put in 9 to a sq m like Potty. From the sound of the following posts, I'll try F1s next year though.

[marchogaeth]

Mine are Franchi - Gentleman. I was just about to post that it's not F1 but I just checked and according to the web site it is but the packet doesn't say so (or I probably wouldn't have bought it, I try to limit F1 buying.) It's very hard to argue with the results from a production point of view.

[leonmc0708]

Are you saying the side shoots grow bigger than the main head leon? My side shoots are more like sprouting broccoli size! But then my main heads have been small too, like roitlet's.

I get the main heads off early to encourage more bigger side shoots