Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli!

I declare a Brassicia Tie with Squat.

My cauliflower is every big as your broccoli. Oh wait, that's me.


Also shown, parsnips, carrots, drunken woman lettuce, broccoli a head of cabbage, and spinach.

WOWOWOW!! congrats! that is beautiful! hoping to get some that nice. The aphids love the garden too! Is that all from your SFG?

I've been second place in carrots and brocs this year; how about caulis?
2lb 4oz

8 inch

It's been tough to keep up with you Easterners this year!

Boff and Squat

Great Pictures. Currently it's about 2 a.m. and you guys have created a serious craving for steamed cauliflower with a little melted cheese!

Beautiful, Squat and Boffer.

So pretty and white. Did you blanch the cauliflower by wrapping some of the lower leaves to protect the curd from turning yellow, or is that a variety that is self blanching?

Wow! Impressive from both of you.

Boffer, you are the MAN! I flipped my cauliflower over a couple of times to make it to 8" but I was about a quarter short. I didn't weigh it, just started snacking.

Congratulations. That cool weather is good for something...

Ah..that's your secret...stuffing your veggies full of Kleenex to make them look bigger!

This head was from this spring, and it's the biggest head I've grown. It grew, side-by-side, in the same cold weather as a lot of broccoli that produced the smallest heads (less than 2½ inches) that I've ever grown. I have to conclude that cauliflower thrives in the colder temperatures that slow down broccoli.

After adding my trowel of compost in each square, I grew a fall crop of broccoli in the same squares. I got many 6+ inchers. They weren't as big as yours, but they definitely grew better in the warmer weather.

The seed packet for my cauliflower says it is a cool weather crop that can be grown in spring or fall, but for best results a fall planting is recommended. The weather gets warmer and warmer as the plant matures for a spring planting, and colder and colder as the plant matures with a fall planting. Also, more and more sunlight each day, versus less and less. So it seems obvious to me there would be a difference.

However, my cauliflower, which I direct seeded just two weeks after Boffer direct seeded his broccoli, has not produced a harvest yet. I think Boffer harvested all his broccoli last month already? I was late for direct seeding - it was just an experiment. But my first anticipated fall frost date I was timing myself by was a full month late too, so they had extra time. *shrug*

Squat and Boffer, what varieties of broccoli did you grow? I had a few that technically grew larger than the one I posted, but they were all loose and open in structure, so I didn't count them. But even the couple that grew close and compact didn't seem as beefy as the one Squat posted. Mine were a "fall blend" so I'm guessing that there were different varieties growing, which would account for the way the heads grew differently?

In my spring planting, the cauliflower was 2-3 weeks behind the broccoli. I have plenty of cauli in the freezer so I didn't do a fall planting of it.

I covered one box with shade cloth for a couple weeks when we had our hot spell this year. (was it mid 80s? lol) That really retarded my broccoli head growth. None of them got bigger than 3 inches. Nor did they want to go to flower. So, I just harvested them in the last couple days to have for Thanksgiving. This will be the second year that I've been able to cut the frozen head off the stalk and put it in the freezer. Last year, I thought I goofed by letting the head freeze solid, but it turned out to be the best tasting broccoli ever.

I grew Thompson and Packman; they seem to be pretty standard fare around here.

I also grew Packman broc...

boffer wrote:This head was from this spring, and it's the biggest head I've grown.

Are you referring to the pictures of your 8" caluli? Was this recently harvested or is that an older picture? How many months did it take to grow to this size from when you planted?

AZDYJ2K wrote:

boffer wrote:This head was from this spring, and it's the biggest head I've grown.

Are you referring to the pictures of your 8" caluli? Was this recently harvested or is that an older picture? How many months did it take to grow to this size from when you planted?

This year. Direct seeded the last week in January. Harvested the first week of June.

I'm posting a short video linked from my youtube channel soon......

Do we have a new winner though????

Fantastic Cauli Boff

Squat - Awesome Harvest

No new winner...this was broccoli contest!

I was referring to the aforementioned video Mr. Cauliflower head

Can you believe it !!!!!!



Squat - Yours was 8 and 3/8th inches and weighed 1 lb 4 oz.

This one came in at 8 and one quarter inch (obviously 2/8ths) and weighed 1lb 3.5oz.

You still have me beat but how close can one get !!!!

However, I do believe I have one or two perhaps just a tad larger.

This will go down to the wire......hehe.

Just to clarify and keep things fair -- when I started this fun little competition way back when, I stated the diameter would determine the winner as long as it was cut by Dec. 31st. And somewhere in the discussion was the topic of buds- they should be no bigger than match heads and tight, certainly not in the flowering stage. The weight is certainly fun to know too but was not a factor since different stem lengths would change the weight of course! Hope this didn't sound too geeky and serious, cause Hey, we're just having fun!

Haven't you heard, llama momma - it's now cool to be geeky!!!

Sounds good to me Sherryeo!

oh yes indeed.....all in good fun. The weight is something that helps me gauge how much i save compared to shop bought but if its inches you want...inches you shall get.

Another soaking hour rain tonight....makes heads bigger !!!!

I will harvest off a big plant tomorrow another large head. I'm sure I have a "9 incha" out there. With the cooler temps, the buds are still nice and tight. I will get a close up pic to verify.

No shenanigans here.....unlike the Boffer and Josh carrot wars

I'll post and you can decide Llamamomma

That's awesome!
Your video is hilarious. Haha, is that your wife in the background laughing at you tooooo funny!

I really like your scale. Mine is a dial model that you can adjust very easily, but I really like your digital.
Details please!

Yes that is my wife laughing AT me..... not WITH me. She thinks I'm nuts.

I went out this AM to inspect the heads after a hard rain last night

.....and......AND ......

Love the video, Graham!
1/8"! Ouch!
jane

Okay Llamamomma......I need your official judgment ....