broccoletti harvest and brassica planting

The broccoletti is ready to harvest!  The main head has formed and the buds are swelling.  A few are actually looking whitish which means if I'd left it another day or two it probably would be in bloom.

I wasn't sure what to expect because I knew it wasn't going to be the same as the store-bought broccolini.  Sure enough, rather than a long thin stalk with a hint of a head it's more a fat stalk with a small head and some side-shoots.  I'm leaving the base of the plant in place to see if it puts out any more side shoots over the next few weeks.

Tonight I'll cut it up, including some of the smaller leaves, and try it lightly poached in an Asian-flavoured broth with some store-bought greens.  I hope it's tasty!

The kale is powering along nicely too.  I've had a few leaves so far but haven't yet made a nice big pot of winter minestrone - so yummy!

In the meantime I also pulled out one of the pots of gai lan that had gone to seed, and re-planted some more.  Hopefully this batch will grow more slowly and not go to seed so quickly, oh and not be eaten by caterpillars and drilled by leaf miners too.  I also planted a red arrow broccoli in the pot that the designer twig used to be in, I hope it's not too late in the season!

My snow peas and broad beans are slowly growing away but they're certainly not in a hurry.  I think they'd both like more sunlight than they get in my yard in winter.  The sun's just too low and the buildings around it too high.  Oh well that's what you get from a little urban yard!