First Fall Broccoli
 

Woo hoo! I cut the first head of broccoli today. A nice 7" wide Packman. That variety does really good here with lots of side shoots later.

[IMG]https://i.imgur.com/dWQyI8b.jpg[/IMG]

There will be another ready next week. I started six plants on Aug 11 and six more on Aug 31, transplanting out on 9/18 and 10/11. This one was 56 days from transplant.

After having a broccoli avalanche one year when I started them all at once, I played with staggered plants and like this planting interval.

As a side note, Blue Wind does about as good as Packman. A few years ago I ran a trial growing both side by side. They both made nice big heads and in the Great Side Shoot Race, it was about a tie. That was good info for me because Packman is getting harder to find. If it ever goes away, I'll switch right over to Blue Wind.

I wish I could find a good OP broccoli but have failed to find one that does well so I'll stick with my favorite Packman.

:dance:

I recall, back when I used to browse through numerous seed catalogues - an open pollinated that many recommended was Umpqua ...... no personal experience ...... but may be worth checking out

[url]https://uprisingorganics.com/vegetables/broccoli/umpqua-376.html[/url]

[QUOTE=PNW_D;749639]I recall, back when I used to browse through numerous seed catalogues - an open pollinated that many recommended was Umpqua ...... no personal experience ...... but may be worth checking out

[URL]https://uprisingorganics.com/vegetables/broccoli/umpqua-376.html[/URL][/QUOTE]

Thank you for that info! If I can find it among the circle of vendors I order from I will trial some next year. :yes:
Ah yes, I see Southern Exposure has some. Yep, I'll give it a try.

Bee-you-ti-ful!!!

That is a lovely head of broccoli there. Packman is my go to variety. It's nice to know that it does well down there too and yes, it is getting very hard to find, so thank you for the tip on Blue Wind.

[QUOTE=MissS;749687]That is a lovely head of broccoli there. Packman is my go to variety. It's nice to know that it does well down there too and yes, it is getting very hard to find, so thank you for the tip on Blue Wind.[/QUOTE]

Thanks to both of you for the kind words.

It was spring 2017 that I did that trial, 6 plants of each. The heads were very comparable. After the last head of each was cut on 5/16, the Great Side Shoot Race began when I'd cut and weigh shoots about once a week or so. And my memory was a bit slack on the results. Between 5/28 and 6/24, Blue Wind actually beat Packman! Final score: 38.6 oz, Packman 32.7 oz.

More side shoots might have come but the white flies invaded hard so I pulled the plants.

Nice Dawg. I haven't even set out my plants yet but the first broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower will hit the garden tomorrow. I was going to set them out today but it was raining this morning and it is predicted to rain off and on all day.

I grew Packman for years but have found a couple I like a bit better. For large heads I grow Gypsy which also makes a lot of nice side shoots and it is fairly early. I also had really good luck with Arcadia this past year. It made nice heads but what was most amazing was the massive side shoot production but it is a little later. I am also trying another one this year called Green Magic. I tried Emerald Crown last year and it was very early with somewhat smaller heads and side shoot production wasn't very good for me I am hoping Green Magic will fill the bill for a slightly smaller plant to go with the other two. With the late start I will have to depend on hoops to ward off the coldest nights and hope they will be enough.

For the past ten years or so I have been staggering my planting dates on many things and the results have been much better than betting everything on just one planting. Staggering gives you a better chance at hitting just the right time for something to do well down here where the weather can be quite unpredictable and it gives a much longer period where fresh produce is available. I really like staggering the planting times for broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and carrots for fall and winter production and staggering the planting dates for tomatoes and bell peppers during the summer.

Bill

that was lovely. mine was frozen already. so sad. glad you have a nice crop of it.

Staggering also lets you do a little at a time, not breaking your back doing everything in one fell swoop.