Read Online Growing Your Own Vegetables: An Encyclopedia of Country Living Guide by Carla Emery, Lorene Edwards Forkner - Free Book Online
Authors: Carla Emery, Lorene Edwards Forkner
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matured and hardened, artichokes must be steamed or boiled to render the meaty base of each immature petal (bract) of the unopened flower bud and the inner heart tender and edible.
Continue to harvest faithfully throughout the season, although those buds that mature in the hottest part of the summer are tougher than those that come before or after the heat. One advantage to growing your own crop is the ability to harvest the chokes when only the size of an egg and before the flowers have developed their thistly centers. These young buds, not generally available in groceries, can be simply sliced and sautéed.
Broccoli
Broccoli ( Brassica oleracea var. botrytis ) has been grown in the Mediterranean and the Middle East for at least the last 2,000 years. The part we eat is the flower head, a mass of tiny unopened buds, and its stem. Broccoli varieties include green, purple (although it turns green when cooked), and white, as well as those that mature at different times of the year with large, small, or oddly shaped heads.
PLANTING: Broccoli likes lots of sun and not much heat, growing best in areas that have cool summers, cultivated as a spring or fall crop in hotter regions. It requires a sweet, fertile soil and regular water during the growing season. Somewhat subject to pests and disease, broccoli should not be grown in the same place year after year.
Purchase young plants or set out home-grown transplants in midspring when daytime temperatures average around 50°F. Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart in every direction or in rows 2 to 3 feet apart. You’ll gain a few weeks of cool-season growing time with the use of a hot cap or cloche for weather protection.
For a fall crop, start seed directly in the garden 10 to 12 weeks before the first fall frost date. Sow seed ½ inch deep and 3 to 4 inches apart, allowing 7 to 10 days for germination. Thin to plant spacing as for spring. Weather permitting, hardy varieties may be sown in late summer to overwinter and produce shoots the following spring; these are often referred to as “sprouting” broccoli. 45 to 85 days to maturity depending on variety.
HARVESTING: The first cluster or head the plant produces will be the biggest; harvest this and all subsequent smaller clusters with a portion of stem attached before the tightly closed buds begin to loosen and flower. A few days after the central sprout is cut, the plant begins to grow smaller side sprouts where leaves join the stem. Keep plants well watered and side-dress with fertilizer to maximize this second and all subsequent crops, continuing to harvest when clusters are in the tight-bud stage. The plants will continue to produce until first frost if you can prevent any flowers from blossoming.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower ( Brassica oleracea var. botrytis ) is best suited to a long, cool and moist growing season and can be difficult to cultivate in other conditions. Varieties are available with white, green, purple, or even orange heads that are rich in vitamins and nutrients.
PLANTING: Prepare a rich, well-dug soil in partial shade, as too much heat causes the plant to head prematurely. Experimenters have grown cauliflower with as little as 2 hours of sunlight each day. Plant seed ¼ to ½ inch deep, 3 inches apart. Cauliflower seed requires heat for germination, around 80°F. Grow transplants for 5 to 7 weeks before setting into the garden as soon as the soil can be worked, setting plants 20 inches apart. Sow seed directly in the garden in summer to take advantage of heat for germination, with fall’s shorter days and cooling weather promoting good growth. Water regularly and mulch to maintain an even soil moisture and combat weeds. 60 to 100 days to maturity depending on variety.
HARVESTING: Cauliflowers size up quickly once the heads begin to form. Harvest when they reach 6 inches in diameter or before the flower buds loosen and open. Each plant produces a single head. For particularly pure white curds, blanch when
Continue to harvest faithfully throughout the season, although those buds that mature in the hottest part of the summer are tougher than those that come before or after the heat. One advantage to growing your own crop is the ability to harvest the chokes when only the size of an egg and before the flowers have developed their thistly centers. These young buds, not generally available in groceries, can be simply sliced and sautéed.
Broccoli
Broccoli ( Brassica oleracea var. botrytis ) has been grown in the Mediterranean and the Middle East for at least the last 2,000 years. The part we eat is the flower head, a mass of tiny unopened buds, and its stem. Broccoli varieties include green, purple (although it turns green when cooked), and white, as well as those that mature at different times of the year with large, small, or oddly shaped heads.
PLANTING: Broccoli likes lots of sun and not much heat, growing best in areas that have cool summers, cultivated as a spring or fall crop in hotter regions. It requires a sweet, fertile soil and regular water during the growing season. Somewhat subject to pests and disease, broccoli should not be grown in the same place year after year.
Purchase young plants or set out home-grown transplants in midspring when daytime temperatures average around 50°F. Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart in every direction or in rows 2 to 3 feet apart. You’ll gain a few weeks of cool-season growing time with the use of a hot cap or cloche for weather protection.
For a fall crop, start seed directly in the garden 10 to 12 weeks before the first fall frost date. Sow seed ½ inch deep and 3 to 4 inches apart, allowing 7 to 10 days for germination. Thin to plant spacing as for spring. Weather permitting, hardy varieties may be sown in late summer to overwinter and produce shoots the following spring; these are often referred to as “sprouting” broccoli. 45 to 85 days to maturity depending on variety.
HARVESTING: The first cluster or head the plant produces will be the biggest; harvest this and all subsequent smaller clusters with a portion of stem attached before the tightly closed buds begin to loosen and flower. A few days after the central sprout is cut, the plant begins to grow smaller side sprouts where leaves join the stem. Keep plants well watered and side-dress with fertilizer to maximize this second and all subsequent crops, continuing to harvest when clusters are in the tight-bud stage. The plants will continue to produce until first frost if you can prevent any flowers from blossoming.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower ( Brassica oleracea var. botrytis ) is best suited to a long, cool and moist growing season and can be difficult to cultivate in other conditions. Varieties are available with white, green, purple, or even orange heads that are rich in vitamins and nutrients.
PLANTING: Prepare a rich, well-dug soil in partial shade, as too much heat causes the plant to head prematurely. Experimenters have grown cauliflower with as little as 2 hours of sunlight each day. Plant seed ¼ to ½ inch deep, 3 inches apart. Cauliflower seed requires heat for germination, around 80°F. Grow transplants for 5 to 7 weeks before setting into the garden as soon as the soil can be worked, setting plants 20 inches apart. Sow seed directly in the garden in summer to take advantage of heat for germination, with fall’s shorter days and cooling weather promoting good growth. Water regularly and mulch to maintain an even soil moisture and combat weeds. 60 to 100 days to maturity depending on variety.
HARVESTING: Cauliflowers size up quickly once the heads begin to form. Harvest when they reach 6 inches in diameter or before the flower buds loosen and open. Each plant produces a single head. For particularly pure white curds, blanch when
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