Re: Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli!

**llama momma** 9/9/2011, 3:54 am

Squaredeal, I identify with taking pictures of your progress, I do the same thing on a weekly basis, sometimes more when something unusual occurs.... During the winter months I suspect our own pictures will be more satisfying and inspiring than those professional-photo-perfect Burpee ones. (Yes those are beautiful-- but realistic well I have my doubts) Last winter I was such a nerd staring out the windows countless times at the snow and tarp covered empty squares daydreaming of Spring. And it was Really Nice to look at my own pictures.

I like that you are the only Fall Garden "Pioneer" at your community garden. You are in a position to save the pictures of your Fall Garden to show other people the possibilites! Appreciate the picture and Thumbs up for success, LlamaMomma

**llama momma** 9/9/2011, 4:01 am

Madnicmom - I cannot tease you. Because I know someone(ahem) a few years ago that very excitedly bought Blueberry plants, lovingly put them in the ground, then looked closer at the faded tags that actually had a picture of blue grapes. Therefore I will only tease you if you want to tease me first!

FamilyGardening 9/10/2011, 1:56 am

here are my babies Very Happy

remember....they are a mix of broc's and cauli's.....( forgot to tag them) dont know who is who yet Laughing

i have two in one of my 4x4 SFG box

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 09_09_10

this one is in my 2x8 SFG box

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 09_09_11

two in my son's SW container with MM

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 09_09_12

two in my daughters SW container with MM

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 09_09_13

and then these guys....they are in MM + extra soil i had affraid

...so i dont think i can count them.... What a Face

now watch.....these will be ALL of the boc's! Shocked

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 09_09_14

hugs

rose

**llama momma** 9/10/2011, 5:02 pm

Wonderful pictures Rose !

I love all the variations of growing plants that is being shared on this forum, still, we're all square foot gardeners. The best part of Fall gardening is I can't wait for the bugs to go away that either annoy, itch, or bite. Some of the fly bites here on my little farm have long lasting results.. Can't believe the nasty bite of farm flies, am looking forward to them all going away soon. Its the best part of fall gardening as the the temperatures cool off and biting bugs go away. The other (warm) morning I was bending over my garden and didn't even know my back end was target practice for mosquitoes. Came inside and realized I had 7 big bites back there. Yee-owwww!

FamilyGardening 9/11/2011, 3:21 am

LOL

Llamma

its happen to me too....i like to garden in my bath robe Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 523562

....i know TMI affraid

....i was out the other morning picking some goodies when all of a sudden a spider was crawling up my leg and under my robe pale

hugs

rose

staf74 9/11/2011, 10:18 am

I'm in. Been outta the game for the summer. The fall is by far my favorite growing season. I've seen a few posters count themselves out of the game thinking that spring has past and the chance has past them by Broccoli OR their spring crop was not the greatest and are put off by trying again. My experience is that Broccoli LOVES the fall. Far less bugs to deal with, if any, really. The plant grows quickly in the warm late summer early fall temps and the head gets huge as it matures in the cooler temps of late fall.

Will have one whole bed of 16 little beauties planted at the end of this week when the temps break from high 80's to the 70's. Not sure how long that will last here in SC but we've had some nights dip into the upper 50's here for the first time........soooo.....FALL IS HERE !!!!

"It's the most wonderful time.....of the year" ( you know the tune Wink

capatl 9/11/2011, 11:37 am

FamilyGardening wrote:LOL Llamma

its happen to me too....i like to garden in my bath robe ....i know TMI ....i was out the other morning picking some goodies when all of a sudden a spider was crawling up my leg and under my robe

hugs

rose

Rose, I am guilty of the same! Nothing nicer than grabbing a cup of coffee and checking out the garden in the cooler am temps. The thought of insects crawling up my legs crosses my mind often, ick! But, hasn't stopped me yet, lol.

**llama momma** 9/11/2011, 11:50 am

Rose - Reading about that rude spider up your robe was hysterical. You might laugh but while reading your story I Instinctively Had to pull in my arms and knees! Reminds me of the time coming into the house sweating and sat down. Uh-oh sweat doesn't roll upwards. Looked look down and working its way up the middle of my chest is a nice size tick. I couldn't stop screaming and squirming and I wouldn't look at it a second time either. My gallant husband went in then disposed of it down the toilet. "Brave" (?) man still smiles about that day..

staf74 - Welcome to our Fall Contest! You have joined about a dozen of us willing to kind of go public with our brassicas. Your 16 brassies is a nice number of competitors. I have 12 babies about 8 inches tall so far. Feel free to submit pictures, ask questions, share your success and war stories.

Enjoy the Fall Adventure!

Llama Momma

sherryeo 9/11/2011, 12:37 pm

Hi guys! I just thought I'd share a photo of my own broccoli! I think I might possibly have the winner here!

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 Broccoli

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 Broccoli

Ok, lame joke - shades of Boffer and Josh's tall carrot tales! If it ever cools off enough down here to plant my broccoli - I'd love to join in the fun. Thank to BBG, I now have seeds! I don't really have any thoughts of actually winning, but I'd love join in.

If I can get my hubby to help me this evening, I hope to set up my 3 new sfg beds - maybe I'll even get the MM mixed & put in them this week. I'll have to see how it goes. It's just the last couple of weeks cooled down out of the 90s here, so I don't know if my broccoli will make it before the year-end deadline, but I'd like to play along just for the fun of it. I planted just a few seeds indoors - we'll see how that goes. I'm still very much a newbie at that!

AprilakaCCIL 9/11/2011, 2:53 pm

Watch out sherryeo & all others --my broccoli is getting bigger. Very Happy

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 09-11-10

staf74 9/11/2011, 3:28 pm

Am I winning Wink

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 100_2410

Alright you got me. I couldn't photoshop out the time stamp from last fall.

sherryeo 9/11/2011, 3:38 pm

staf,

You definitely win the prize for one of the cutest garden helpers I've ever seen!!! And the broccoli ain't bad, either! Very Happy

AprilakaCCIL 9/14/2011, 9:59 pm

Transplanted more broccoli-- that has been growing in trays, in the shade--> on the carport.
I have a lot of broccoli growing. Very Happy

**Top Bed**-The broccoli seeds (Now grown and transplanted) are from Park Seeds. Very Happy

You can see them kinda sticking out at the top/middle.

The broccoli seeds started in the bottom bed are from (Ferry & Morse) Green Spouting Calabrese, got the package seeds at Lowes.

Got a tub full of 6 more!! lol!

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 09-13-10

I'll get a better picture for you all soon. The sun was bright today.

**gwennifer** 9/16/2011, 1:29 am

I ended up going out of town for six days, and though my trip was for sad reasons, I happily traded the 90 degree "heat wave" the Portland area was having for the sunny fall weather in Anchorage, Alaska.

When I arrived home, I checked the garden first thing and found all six broccoli's growing heads! This one was farthest along:

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 09121110

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 09121110

They are kind of yellow-ish. I'm curious if they will darken up.

moswell 9/16/2011, 8:45 am

Wow! I guess I know what to expect (this is my first time growing broccoli)! That looks beautiful and healthy.

AprilakaCCIL 9/16/2011, 9:55 am

moswell wrote:Wow! I guess I know what to expect (this is my first time growing broccoli)! That looks beautiful and healthy.

My first time too!!! Amazing huh?

Neat-o to see your babies gwennifer--very cool! Congratulations girlie. cheers

shannon1 9/17/2011, 3:20 am

llama momma wrote:
Welcome also Shannon- your "Purple Sprouting Brocc" sounds interesting, I didn't know brocc came in that color. Thought only kale came in a purple variety.

I am excited for you and curious about the taste of purple brocc, have you tasted this before? Also, we are measuring the diameter of the mature heads before they bolt, so try to measure before any of the buds turn yellow.

Well I never recieved the seeds as promised, so no purple sprouting brocc this year. Sad

my fall garden is all planted and growing8) it is still hot here. once it cools a bit and with some rain I think all will do well.

**walshevak** 9/17/2011, 6:58 pm

All you southern gardeners, I just got back from the Philippines. HOT, Humid, 12 hr sunlight year round. Who would ever think a cold weather plant like broccoli would grow. But it did and produced 3-4" diameter florets and several side shoots per plant. It was grown under shade cloth during the rainy season. Just had to watch it twice a day every day to make sure to catch it before it bolted. The last few florets were picked on tues. This will probably be the last as the dry season is starting
Kay

**llama momma** 9/28/2011, 11:29 am

Fall Garden Broccoli Contesters - Gwennifer has a beautiful broccoli harvest picture on the next thread, "Fall harvest photo and questions". I am wondering Gwennifer if you got around to measuring the diameter of that beauty ?? Very Happy

Because my broccs are still infants!

**gwennifer** 9/28/2011, 12:25 pm

Uhhhh.... Of course I measured it! (Actually, the picture you're referring to shows THREE broccoli heads, so now my ONE will seem a little wimpy). I harvested my best looking broc last Saturday. It took me a little while to figure out how to measure it accurately; I realized it needed to be sandwiched between two vertical parallel surfaces. Enter Mega-Blocks!

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 Img_3410

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 Img_3410

So there it is folks! Size to beat: 6 7/8" diameter. It weighed about 11 ounces (though that will vary depending on where you cut it from the plant). I harvested three more yesterday and found them to all be about the same: 6-7" diameter, and 9-11 ounces. Most importantly... tender and delish! Can't wait to see if I get any side shoots! Very Happy

**llama momma** 9/28/2011, 12:39 pm

Great Picture and it looks so delicious! Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 73140

There you have it Contestants,

6-7/8 inches wide. How long will this measurement stand??

staf74 9/29/2011, 10:47 pm

So the bar has been set. Nice pic for sure. Almost 7 inches. Impressive....... Most impressive (spot the movie quote).

Mine are coming along nicely but won't be entering the measuring contest until sometime in mid November. Patience grasshopper!!!

Do we need a referee? How do we truly know you cut that eh? Does the measurement have to be on the plant BEFORE cutting the head......j/k .....I doubt it. I would only ask that rule be enforced if Boffer and Josh were playing Wink

FamilyGardening 9/30/2011, 10:53 pm

our babies are growing on.....not sure if we will get anything out of them before the weather gets bad....still hoping Very Happy

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moswell 10/17/2011, 11:52 am

My broccoli plants are growing (nowhere near the size of the plants on the previous page), but I still don't see any heads on them yet. The temps here in NJ are varying wildly: one day it'll be windy and 60, the next no wind and 70. The night temps are getting down to the mid-40s - should I be putting something like a hoop house over them so that they have a chance to grow heads before it gets too cold?

Squat_Johnson 10/17/2011, 8:22 pm

I _really_ don't want to be a one upper. I am very impressed with gwennifer's harvest, and everyone's hard work. Since gwennifer discovered my virtual tour video here, I am posting my broccoli harvest photos on this thread.

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 Broc10

Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 Broc10

The largest one is is 8 3/8" wide, and 1lb. 4 oz. I picked two others.
Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli! - Page 4 Broc210

Gotta go, it's time to make dinner...

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Fall Contest - Show us your Biggest Brassica, Broccoli!