In My San Diego Garden and Kitchen
Cauliflower season nears the end. Two Romanesco heads linger in the 4 x 8 foot bed where seventeen plants thrived. Today’s post will summarize the brassica season and next week the citrus will steal the show.
If you’re fascinated like me by Romanesco—part math (fractals), part art, part wonder, learn more at my Romanesco post.
Check my post How to Grow Romanesco for growing tips. It’s a cool season crop in Southern California. In some USDA zones it may grow well in the shoulder seasons when weather is cool.
Here is the compost-rich raised bed in mid-November, interplanted with lettuce and bunching onions. Seeds from Territorial Seed Company were planted in late August and transplanted in early October. There were five ‘Veronica’ Romanesco, and six each of ‘Graffiti’ and ‘Amazing’ cauliflowers planted 15 inches apart. Romanesco plants grow very large so those were spaced at 18 inches and all were heavily mulched with dried grass and crumbled leaves.
Most heads weighed in at about 1.5 pounds with minimal stem. Neighbors shared in the bounty and for almost a month, cauliflower was on the dinner menu in some form. Local rabbits, guinea pigs and chickens feasted on the leaves and apparently bunnies love the cauliflower stems.
The salads have been memorable and varied with colorful winter lettuces.
My novelty crop this year was ‘Jacaranda’ broccoli, a chance find when perusing the Territorial Seed catalog. It’s a suitable replacement for purple sprouting broccoli which is unreliable in my garden. I’ve noted side shoots developing on the six plants.
Other commendations: it produces about ten days earlier than most broccoli varieties and the plants are slightly smaller. The heads are still a decent size, though not as large as my ‘Premium Crop.’
Six ‘Premium Crop’ plants performed admirably and now are setting sizable side shoots. Those will continue as long as I am patient to harvest and the spot is not needed for warm season crops.
The large plants are spaced 15 inches apart and shade the well-mulched soil which helps with irrigation. January in California was the driest on record but fortunately I had captured about 800 gallons of rainwater during December storms.
On the way to the vegetable garden, ‘February Gold’ daffodils cheer me. Hopefully, they show up in your ‘hood soon.
I’m pleased that Harvest Monday begins again today, hosted by Dave at Happy Acres. For readers joining by that route, check what’s been happening in my winter garden in December and January by reviewing recent blogposts. See the options on my landing page.
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