For harvests in autumn mostly| the key sowing date and a taste comparison| Charles Dowding

For harvests in autumn mostly| the key sowing date and a taste comparison| Charles Dowding
It's early autumn at Homeacres no dig garden. Long stems of Tenderettte and large domed heads of calabrese are cropping. And cauliflowers including white ones, and Romanesco later on.
I sowed them all on the same date of 21st June, including purple sprouting broccoli. That will not crop until next spring.
It's important when sowing seeds, to understand these kinds of differences, mainly in when they come ready. Read the small print about when the plants you grow are expected to produce a harvest.

All these varieties are hybrids, which makes a worthwhile difference for broccoli harvests in my experience. Most other vegetables in my garden are not hybrids.

Just for comparison I show you some cauliflower, sown one week earlier in the middle of June and cropping now. It's closely related to broccoli, but rarely makes any secondary harvests after you cut the main curd.

00:00 Introduction, and a brief recap of the summer’s weather
00:58 A bed of calabrese (broccoli), and how to assess readiness - I harvest one to demonstrate, it's a hybrid variety, Marathon
04:01 Purple sprouting broccoli in the same bed, variety Claret F1
05:04 Pests that affect brassicas, incl. gall/swede midge, and how to protect them
06:27 Removing the lower leaves
06:54 Protecting against pigeons
07:19 A look at some cauliflower - White Excel F1 sown two weeks before the broccolis - and how to assess readiness
10:27 Tenderette F1 broccoli - I show a recent harvest and compare it with some tenderstem broccoli bought from a supermarket
15:20 A taste test between the two
16:51 Disease affecting plants, and caterpillars
19:05 Spraying Bascillus thuringienis
19:44 Outro

More details in my No Dig book https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/prod...
From my website I sell a guide on growing broccoli https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/prod...

Filmed mid September 2023 by Edward Dowding, in my no dig garden in Somerset, UK.

You can join this channel by paying a monthly fee, to support our work with helping gardeners grow better, and to receive monthly videos made only for members:
   / @charlesdowding1nodig  

#nodig #nodiggardening #broccoli #sow #cauliflower