Pick the sprouting broccoli spears:
- just before the flower buds open
purple-broccoli-spear
sprouting-broccoli-spear
- when young, so very tender & not stringy
early sprouting rudolph
- leaving some stem on the plant, so that the buds will produce more spears – cut & come again!
The central head on the sprouting broccoli plant will be larger than the side shoots, but not as big as the standard broccoli sold in the shops. This is actually calabrese – quite different from sprouting broccoli harvested in the early spring.
Cut the large central head out before the flower buds open, when still tender. Cutting out the central head will encourage the side shoots to develop.
whitesprouting-brocoli
Pick sprouting broccoli every few days to make sure the shoots are young and tender. It is often difficult to see the sprouts in amongst the leaves, particularly the purple sprouts, but white sprouting broccoli is easier to see and pick!
Gill has grown some purple sprouting broccoli in her new raised bed.
broccoli----raised-bed
This is the first season that Gill has grown veg & she says that she will not grow broccoli again because it takes up so much room and stays in the bed for a long time (from April till March – a full year!).
Gill has 3 raised beds, so she plans to grow vegetables which have:
- a short growing season – like radish, french beans
- a compact habit – like carrots
This way she will produce more vegetables for the kitchen. She feels that broccoli has taken up valuable space & has not produced much yield – as she could only fit about 4 plants in , together with a few cabbage.
purple-sproutg-raised-bed
BUT, Gill has not tasted the broccoli yet. It is such a treat to be able to pick fresh veg from the garden at this time of the year. The broccoli in the photo was picked this afternoon – so will Gill change her mind once she has tasted her purple sprouting broccoli from her raised beds?
Sprouts are rich in vitamin C.
According to today’s Daily Mail a single sprout contains four times as much vitamin C as an orange.
brussels-sprouts
8 Brussels sprouts make up one portion, and will count as one of the 5 a Day vegetables.
sprouts-with-bacon
This sprout supper is quite delicious, (and can be varied by adding a few cooked chestnuts), and very healthy as sprouts are so rich in Vitamin C.
Black sooty moulds are appearing on Brussel Sprouts.
brussels-sprouts
- The black sooty mould can be sticky and is the result of a whitefly attack.
- Cabbage whitefly overwinters on brussel sprouts as adult insects.
- Adult whitefly and their nymphs suck sap from the sprout plant and excrete a sugary substance (honeydew) onto the leaves.
- Sooty moulds then grow on this sugary substance – and can make a real mess of the sprout buttons.
- The warmer the weather the worse the problem is.
Click the link for more information on Cabbage whitefly which is the cause of black sooty moulds on brussel sprouts.
Spinach Beet, also known as Perpetual Spinach, is a cut and come again veg which goes on and on.
We have been harvesting this crop, from raised beds, for months, and although it is looking a bit tatty now, in the middle of December, it is still providing welcome green leaves.
spinach-in-raised-bed
Spinach beet (Perpetual Spinach) is:
- succulent
- prolific
- very hardy
- good on dry ground
- rarely bolts
- suitable for summer, autumn and winter crops
spinach-Dec12th
To grow spinach beet (perpetual spinach):
- sow seeds in early spring and/or autumn
- sow very thinly
- in ordinary garden soil
- 3cm (1in) deep in rows 30cm (12in) apart
- thin out to 23cm (9in) apart
- water well – throughout the season
- harvest the leaves when they are large enough with scissors, leaving some leaves & the growing centre on each plant
- pick all leaves that are large enough – even if you don’t want them, so that new leaves keep coming
Nutritional value of spinach beet:
spinach beet is high in :
- vitamins A and C
- beta-carotene
- lutein (which helps protect against eye disease)
- dietary fibre
Click this link to buy some seeds of Spinach Beet, or Perpetual Spinach.
Here is a recipe using Brussels sprouts which is ideal for a winter lunch or supper.
sprouts-with-bacon
Ingredients for 2 people:
- 14 cleaned Brussels sprouts
- medium onion peeled & chopped
- 4 rashers of bacon chopped
- rapeseed oil for frying
- black pepper
Method:
- place the sprouts in boiling water & par-boil until just crunchy (about 8 minutes)
- drain the sprouts
- as the sprouts are cooking, fry the onion and bacon until crunchy in the rapeseed oil
- add the partly cooked sprouts to the frying mixture, and stir in for about 3 minutes
- grind some black pepper over the mixture
- serve!
Time: about 15 minutes from start to finish
We used Bridget sprouts & Woburn Country Foods black back bacon as it gave it a sweet, smoky flavour.
dish-of-sprouts-with-bacon
This is another sprout recipe to add the GreatBigVegetableChallenge list!
Served with a baked potato, it was a great Sprout Supper!
brussels-sprouts
The GBVC is wanting recipes using Brussels sprouts.
TopVeg loves sprouts steamed for 15 minutes – & can’t really beat that – but do let us know if you have a mouthwatering sprout recipe.
Sprouts are ready in the garden now, and should last for several months, so we could do with some variation!
Brussels-sprout-row
It is all for a very good cause – Royal Navy Commanding Officer Wayne Keble OBE who is in charge of the illustrious HMS Bulwark, has dared to suggest that sprouts should be banned from the captain’s table – he actually called them the ‘devil’s vegetable.’
The Captain added “One of my roles as Commanding Officer is to ensure that we are fit and healthy and that we have a healthy lifestyle, moderate our alcohol intake and make sure we are not overweight.”
But, sprouts fill that role – as they are full of fibre, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium and iron- just what his 390-strong team of sailors and Royal Marines need.
The GBVC is hoping that some tempting recipes will change the Captain’s mind – & hopefully win him over to sprouts. So recipes for Brussels sprouts are wanted for a good cause; please send them in!
Brussels-sprouts will provide vegetables for the winter months and deserve some extra care.
- Pull off any yellow leaves, which will develop at the bottom of the stalk as part of the natural ageing process. Cart them well away.
- Make sure the sprouts are secure on their stakes, to withstand the winter winds.
staking-sprouts
- Be prepared & protect the brussels-sprout plants from pigeons, which appear from no-where when the temperature drops. Pigeons cause havoc in a very short time, so it is better to keep them off from the start.
- Pick the sprouts when they are about 1inch (2-3cm) in diameter. The bottom ones will be ready first. The others will be ready to harvest in stages over the next couple of months.
big-sprouts-below
Brussel sprouts give great rewards for a little care.
Wire Stem is a condition found in brassicas, which is caused by a fungus, Rhizoctonia.
The base of the stem becomes black and shrivelled.
Seedlings often die, and those plants which survive grow very slowly.
The stems are brittle and break off easily.
