Waltham 29 broccoli- worth growing?
 

Is waltham 29 broccoli worth growing from seed? It is a 1950 heirloom and seed is cheap. Or are the hybrids much better?

I'm looking for a spring planting with side shoots afterwards. Also looking for a fall one cut and done. I'm okay with buying two different hybrids for this, but are they really better?

I've been very happy with the Gypsy hybrid broccoli. It seems to be quite tolerant of whatever kind of weather we have, hot or cooler. It does develop nice side shoots also.

I decided to pass on the waltham and purchased Green Magic F1. I do remember growing gypsy as purchased plants, but I don't think they had them the next year.

Green Magic is my new favorite broccoli variety. I have grown it for three years now and find it a bit smaller than Gypsy which was my last favorite. GM makes about a week earlier than any other variety and though the plant is not as large as some it makes a good sized head and the side shoots are easy and make quicker than most of the other varieties and they are all centrally located which makes finding them easier than other varieties. I grew Waltham many years ago and didn't like it and every hybrid I have grown has done better than Waltham so I haven't grown it again nor do I want to.

My three favorite varieties in order are Green Magic, Arcadia, and Gypsy. All make large tight heads and they are all early varieties. I loved Coronado Crown because it made huge very tight heads and did great overwintering as long as frost cloth was used on nights below freezing. I haven't seen that variety in years despite looking for it because I thought it was the best overall variety for my garden and conditions. A variety that does great in the winter is better than spring or fall because of the sudden rise in temps we have that cause early heading before the plants are large enough to produce a decent head. I once got a huge beautiful head of CC that would not fit into a 5 gal bucket. That single head must have weighed in over 8 pounds and it was still very tender when cooked with very tight small beads. I think they must have dropped that hybrid since it was so large it didn't work for commercial growers and did not produce standard size heads.

Bill

Green Magic was great here too, both spring and fall last year, side shoots even in fall. I'm pretty happy with Green Magic, Amazing cauliflower, Bravo cabbage, and I think Marte is the brussels sprouts. For here in SE PA, they all worked great last year.



And I really like starting them the way Fusion_Power explained a few years back to keep them from getting leggy and falling over; make a hole about 3/4" wide and very deep, lay the seed in the hole, uncovered. When the leaves grow up past the top, gently squeeze the cup. They set roots along the stem and don't seem to get leggy again. I do the process using soil blocks.

Someone gave me some Green Magic broccoli and I didn't have any room so I gave them to someone else. Wish I had found room now, There were also some White magic cauliflower


Arcadia is a wonderful variety but it takes so long I had to give them up. One mild winter they grew perfect but the other times not so much. Packman was perfect but was discontinued for whatever reason.


I now grow Di Cicco. Small heads but plenty of side shoots and I love the taste and it cannot be discontinued