It has a very open growth habit and small heads. It is like the Hydra in Greek mythology. Cut the first head and two come back. Cut those and then you have four.
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In my climate it will produce heads and tender stalks (which outweigh the heads 5-to-1) until November if you keep it watered and feed it a bit of nitrogen and potash. Aphids, the little waxy-looking ones, become an issue late in the season. It is incredibly productive and I was sad when Johnny's stopped carrying it, but it looks like it is back in stock.
I think the open architecture of the plant makes it easy for little-brown-birds to find and eat the worms. Any frass (bug poop) is washed away by the rain.
A second possibility
Birds seem to be more efficient at finding and eating caterpillars on purple plants. Go figure. Cabbage worms are neon green.
There are several purple broccoli cultivars available. I linked to Johnny's because Happy Rich is an exclusive and shipping costs add up, but other suppliers also carry purple broccoli, although most of them are for "over-wintering" which doesn't work so well in Zone 5 and Zone 6.
A third possibility
Maybe floating row covers?
For my cruciferous veggies I use B.t spray as needed. I find it effective in my hothouse climate (central FL). Low toxicity to humans and most other insect species.
ReplyDeleteI made tall cages with 1x1s and window screen which I can reuse every year. Floating row covers work well if the pieces are big enough to keep the plant covered as it grows. Floating row covers are suppose to be reuseable, but I've had mixed luck in using them more than a year or two.
ReplyDeleteI tried tunnel covers when the plants were small, but never tried the bigger floating covers. My understanding is the moths might fly under the covers, and I would get worms anyway.
ReplyDeleteI would soak the heads after picking, but never got them all.
We used to get aphids every time we grew Brussels sprouts, so gave up on those too.
Thanks for the advice!
Southern NH
Southern NH, the floating row covers only work if the edges are buried or held snug to the ground in some way. They exclude the moths from getting to the plants, but only work if there is no way in.
DeleteWe use a 2"x2" x 4'x8' wood frame and attached 1/2" PVC arches from side to side, with crop cover cloth on it. They fit tight over 4'x8' bed boxes. Keeps the moths out. Light enough to tip up on one edge. Be a lot of work though, for long row crops.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information!
ReplyDelete