BROCCOLI

Brassica oleracea botrytis asparagoides



The great importance of this crop is indicated by the long list of

varieties and the still longer list of synonyms. As a vegetable it needs

no praise, and our sole business will be to treat of the cultivation.



Of necessity we begin with generalities. Any good soil will grow

Broccoli, but it is a strong-land plant, and a well-tilled clay should

yield first-class crops. But there are so many kinds coming into use at

various seasons, that the cultivation may be regarded as a somewhat

complex subject. We will therefore premise that the best must be made of

the soil at command, whatever it may be. The Cornish growers owe their

success in great part to their climate, which carries their crops

through the winter unhurt; but they grow Broccoli only on rich soil, and

keep it in good heart by means of seaweed and other fertilisers. All the

details of Broccoli culture require a liberal spirit and careful

attention, and the value of a well-grown crop justifies first-class

treatment. On the other hand, a badly-grown crop will not pay rent for

the space it covers, to say nothing of the labour that has been devoted

to it.



The Seed-bed.--Broccoli should always be sown on good seed-beds and be

planted out; the seed-beds should be narrow, say three or three and a

half feet wide, and the seed must be sown in drills half an inch deep at

the utmost--less if possible; and where sparrows haunt the garden it

will be well to cover the beds with netting, or protect the rows with

wire pea guards. A quick way of protecting all round seeds against small

birds is to put a little red lead in a saucer, then lightly sprinkle the

seed with water and shake it about in the red lead. Not a bird or mouse

will touch seed so treated.



The seed-beds must be tended with scrupulous care to keep down weeds and

avert other dangers. It is of great importance to secure a robust plant,

short, full of colour, and free from club at the root. Now, cleanliness

is in itself a safeguard. It promotes a short sturdy growth, because

where there are no weeds or other rubbish the young plant has ample

light and air. Early thinning and planting is another important matter.

If the land is not ready for planting, thin the seed-bed and prick out

the seedlings. A good crop of Broccoli is worth any amount of trouble,

although trouble ought to be an unknown word in the dictionary of a

gardener.



Manuring Ground.--As a rule, Broccoli should be planted in fresh

ground, and, in mild districts, if the soil is in some degree rank with

green manure the crop will be none the worse for it. But rank manure is

not needful; a deep, well-dug, sweet loam will produce a healthy growth

and neat handsome heads. However, it is proper to remark, that if any

rank manure is in the way, or if the ground is poor and wants it, the

Broccoli will take to it kindly, and all the rankness will be gone long

before they produce their creamy heads. Still, it must be clearly

understood that the more generous the treatment, the more succulent will

be the growth, and in cold climates a succulent condition may endanger

the crop when hard weather sets in.



Method of Planting.--Broccoli follows well upon Peas, early Potatoes,

early French Beans, and Strawberries that are dug in when gathered from

for the last time. But it does not follow well upon Cabbage, Turnip, or

Cauliflower; if Broccoli must follow any of these, dig deeply, manure

heavily, and in planting, dust a little freshly slaked lime in the

holes. The times of planting will depend on the state of the plants and

the proper season of their heading in. But everywhere and always the

plants should be got out of the seed-bed into their permanent quarters

as soon as possible, for the longer they stay in the seed-bed the more

likely are they to become drawn above and clubbed below. As regards

distances, too, the soil, the variety, and the season must be

considered. For all sorts the distances range from two to two and a half

feet; and for most of the medium-sized sorts that have to stand out

through the winter for use in spring, a distance of eighteen to

twenty-four inches is usually enough, because if they are rather close

they protect one another. But with strong sorts in strong soils and kind

climates, two feet and a half every way is none too much even for safe

wintering. Plant firmly, water if needful, and do not stint it; but, if

possible, plant in showery weather, and give no water at all. Watering

may save the crop, but the finest pieces of Broccoli are those that are

secured without any watering whatever.



Autumn Broccoli.--To grow Autumn Broccoli profitably, sow in February,

March, and April, the early sowings in a frame to insure vigorous

growth, and the later sowings in the open ground. Plant out as soon as

possible in fresh land that has been deeply tilled. If the soil is poor,

draw deep drills, fill them with fat manure, and plant by hand, taking

care to press round each root crumbs from the surface soil. This will

give them a good start, and they will take care of themselves

afterwards. When they show signs of heading in, run in shallow drills of

Prickly Spinach between them, and as this comes up the Broccoli will be

drawn, leaving the Spinach a fair chance of making a good stolen crop,

needing no special preparation whatever. Another sowing of Broccoli may

be made in May, but the early sowings, if a little nursed in the first

instance, will pay best, because early heads are scarce, whereas late

Broccoli are plentiful.



Winter Broccoli should not be sown before the end of March and thence

to the end of April. As a rule, the April sowing will make the best

crop, although much depends on season, soil, and climate. Begin to plant

out early, and continue planting until a sufficient breadth of ground is

covered. Within reasonable limits it will be found that the time of

planting does not much affect the date when the heads turn in, and only

in a moderate degree influences the size of them.



Spring Broccoli are capricious, no matter what the world may say. It

will occasionally happen that sorts planted for cutting late in spring

will turn in earlier than they are wanted, and the sun rather than the

seedsman must be blamed for their precocity. In average seasons the late

sorts turn in late; but the Broccoli is a sensitive plant, and

unseasonable warmth results in premature development. Sow the Spring

Broccoli in April and May, the April sowing being the more important. It

will not do, however, to follow a strict rule save to this effect, that

early and late sowings are the least likely to succeed, while mid-season

sowings--say from the middle of April to the middle of May--will, as a

rule, make the best crops. Where there is a constant demand for Broccoli

in the early months of the year, two or three small sowings will be

better than one large sowing.



Summer Broccoli are useful when Peas are late, and they are always

over in time to make way for the glut of the Pea crop. Late Queen may,

in average seasons, be cut at the end of May and sometimes in June, if

sown about the middle of May in the previous year, and carefully

managed. This excellent variety can, as a rule, be relied on, both to

withstand a severe winter in an exposed situation and to keep up the

supplies of first-class vegetables until the first crop of Cauliflower

is ready, and Peas are coming in freely. Generally speaking, smallish

heads, neat in shape and pure in colour, are preferred. They are the

most profitable as a crop and the most acceptable for the table. An

open, breezy place should be selected for a plantation of late Broccoli,

the land well drained, and it need not be made particularly rich with

manure. But good land is required, with plenty of light and air to

promote a dwarf sturdy growth and late turning in.



Protection in Winter.--Various plans are adopted for the protection of

Broccoli during winter. Much is to be said in favour of leaving them to

the risk of all events, for certain it is that finer heads are obtained

from undisturbed plants than by any interference with them, provided

they escape the assaults of winter frost. But in such a matter it is

wise to be guided by the light of experience. In cold districts, and on

wet soils where Broccoli do not winter well, heeling over may be

adopted. There are several ways of accomplishing the task, the most

successful method being managed thus. Open a trench at the northern end,

and gently push over each plant in the first row so that the heads

incline to the north. Put a little mould over each stem to settle it,

but do not earth it up any more than is needful to render it secure.

Push over the next row, and the next, and so on, finishing off between

them neatly and leaving the plants nearly as they were before, save that

they now all look northward, and their sloping stems are a little

deeper in the earth than they were in the first instance. This should

be done during fine weather in November, and if the plants flag a little

they should have one good watering at the roots. In the course of about

ten days it will be scarcely perceptible that they have been operated

on. They may be lifted and replanted with their heads to the north, but

this is apt to check them too much. In exceptionally cold seasons cover

the plot with straw or bracken, but this must be removed in wet weather.

When it is seen that the heads are forming and hard weather is

apprehended, some growers take them up with good balls of earth and

plant them in a frame, or even pack them neatly in a cellar, and the

heads finish fairly well, but not so well as undisturbed plants. It is

impossible, however, to cut good heads in a very severe winter without

some such protective measures. In many gardens glass is employed for

protecting Winter Broccoli, in which case the plantations are so shaped

that the frames will be easily adapted to them without any disturbance

of the plants whatever. There must be allowed a good space between the

beds to be covered, and the plants must be fifteen to eighteen inches

apart, with the object of protecting the largest number by means of a

given stock of frames.



Sprouting Broccoli, both white and purple, are invaluable to supply a

large bulk of a most acceptable vegetable in winter and early spring.

Sow in April and the plants may be treated in the same way as other

hardy winter greens. They should have the most liberal culture possible,

for which they will not fail to make an ample return. The Purple

Sprouting Broccoli is a favourite vegetable in the kitchen, because of

its freedom from the attacks of all kinds of vermin.