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Post by littleminnie on Dec 13, 2011 18:14:06 GMT -5
Has anyone grown Fedco's Arcadia or Fiesta hybrid broccoli? Fiesta is pretty pricey, but I am thinking of trialing it out with some others.
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Post by ottawagardener on Dec 13, 2011 19:23:28 GMT -5
No but I"ve been pretty impressed with Nutri-bud: dense plantings produced good sized heads and an endless, all season long harvest of side shoots.
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 14, 2011 13:04:53 GMT -5
Minnie, Last year we trialed these. With the De Cicco being our "go to" broccoli, we used it for the control. It always does well here. De Cicco OP Mix - Long Island Seed Nutribud - Alan Kapuler Ramoso Calabrese Purple Peacock Piraciicaba So, of these, we got one Purple Peacock. It was vole chocolate. Lots of good variety in the LI Seed. The Piracicaba is sort of odd, lots and lots of little heads, it looks like a cross with Broc Raab. The De Cicco makes a big head and then lots and lots of little heads. Nutribud is a good sturdy broc and the only one on our list that is not Italian. The Ramoso makes a nice compact medium head, followed by little florets. I have all of these in the field now, again. Unfortunately, I do not have any more of the Long Island Seeds. I sent them to Joseph, who I hope will develop a gorgeous op broc for all of us. I have 10 brocs in the field from last year, just making seed. I know they are crossed up with cabbage/cauli. I have not worked very hard on seed saving from Broc. I tend to use each bit of it up for home or for the CSA. All of this seed saving takes up a lotta space, and I get very impatient with the space. Especially since all the members of the brassicaceae cross, and I have too many sisters: kale, Chinese Cabbage, Cabbage, Cauliflower and Mizuna, Bok Choy, Cress and mustard (not to mention the wild mustard), and the brothers: horseradish, daikon, turnips and rutabagas. So I end up buying all this seed. Broccoletto Quarantino we just got from Cortona, so I'll use it for Spring Brocolli. About in February, I have to start all this again, so that I have some for April. The photo is of cabbage, note the missing ones. I'm feeding vile voles. For the Italian Broccoli's the best price and most amount of seed for the buck comes from "Seeds of Italy". The least amount of seed comes from Bountiful Gardens. I buy my Asian veges from Kitazawa Seed Co. Have fun. Attachments:
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Post by ottawagardener on Dec 14, 2011 16:38:41 GMT -5
I grew purple peacock too which is delicious but not overly productive in terms of flower heads. It's sort of the rapini of B. oleracea in my opinion. Tops for taste though.
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Post by raymondo on Dec 15, 2011 20:32:58 GMT -5
...Nutribud is a good sturdy broc and the only one on our list that is not Italian... Isn't Piracicaba Brazilian? By the way, where did you source your seeds for Piracicaba? It's supposedly bred for heat tolerance so might do well over summer here. |
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 15, 2011 21:13:25 GMT -5
Ray, We got them at Bountiful Gardens.
It's a Brazilian variety of broccoli. Piracicaba is referred to as a non-heading broccoli, but what that really means is that the heads it produces are quite small. The largest ones I've seen on my plants are the first ones formed in the center of the plant. They're big enough to divide into two or maybe three good sized spears. When that one is removed, more heads start to form on the outer branches, each one smaller than the last.
Brazilian broccoli variety is tolerant of heat and drought. Given the way our summers are trending with the global climate weirding, this is an attribute that has my full attention and respect. Piracicaba is also fairly cold hardy. It held on till the first frost. That did surprise me. That's still not all though. It's also resistant to cabbage moths, if you get those.
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Post by littleminnie on Dec 16, 2011 21:13:18 GMT -5
I saw it in Sandhill's 2010 catalog but it was unavailable. I wrote a response on this thread yesterday and then lost it. So long story short, I will be trialing the 2 hybrids I mentioned and several OP.  |
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Post by oxbowfarm on Dec 17, 2011 8:01:00 GMT -5
I got some Piracicaba from Hudson Seed Library, I'm going to trial it next year. I started some for a fall crop and it was looking good and the demonic deer ate it to the ground. I'm going to have to break down and get the take the hunter safety course so I can fill my own deer management permits. All my hunter friends are too interested in getting a buck. I don't get damage from bucks, I get invaded by doe. I could practically kill them with thrown rocks sometimes.
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Post by lieven on Dec 18, 2011 12:44:29 GMT -5
I crossed Purple Peacock x Violet Sicilian Cauliflower x some other stuff in 2009. The offspring: beautifully diverse purple Broccomania!
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Post by raymondo on Dec 18, 2011 14:49:18 GMT -5
Lieven, that sounds like an interesting mix. I do enjoy watching brassica crosses unfold. This year I moved some Georgia Southern collards, a savoy cabbage, a red cabbage and some Cavolo Nero kale into the same bed and they flowered together. I can't wait to grow out some of the the F1, which I'll sow in January.
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Post by oxbowfarm on Dec 18, 2011 15:17:50 GMT -5
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Ray is an incorrigible brassica miscegenator. Vegetable Puritans write laws because of guys like Ray.
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Post by ottawagardener on Dec 18, 2011 16:14:31 GMT -5
Lievan: sounds interesting. I got some nutribud x purple peacock this year. We'll see what they produce.
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Post by littleminnie on Jan 29, 2012 20:16:28 GMT -5
I am still undecided on broccoli for this year. When I think I have found one with good reliable production, heat tolerance and good side shoot production, someone else says it isn't. I am only ordering from 4 seed companies this season (I like to keep shipping costs down). They are Fedco, Heirloom Acres, Sandhill and Territorial. I have a large packet left of Fedco's broccoli blend. Last year broccoli sucked! I need a good crop like in 2009 and 2010.
These are my choices:
Hybrid:
Arcadia or any other in Fedco
OP:
Umpqua
De Ciccio
Thompson
Green Sprouting
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