March 23, 1912. 



THE 



GARDENERS* MAGAZINE. 



241 



BROCCOLI. 



There is no other winter or spring vege- 

 taible so widely gro-wn or so much in request 

 as the brocoolij and none in which the sea- 

 son of usefulness extends over so long a 

 period^ for, thanks to the numerous varie- 

 ties in the various -sections into which the 

 hroccolis are divided, fine heads may be had 

 from Michaelmas until mid-summer ; there- 

 fore, in dealing with a vegetable of such 

 general cultivation it is essential that each 

 s€K:-tion should be treated separately, as the 

 management differs considerably. 



Autumn Supplies. 



If we take the autumn section, of which 

 there are several varieties that are in use 

 from September until the early T\'inter, it 

 Mill be found these are more tender than 

 those in season from IMarch onward, and 

 not sujfficiently hardy to withstand the 

 frost of our climate unless in the most 

 favoured portions of the kingdom. Their 

 flavour, too, is more that of the cauliflower 

 than the hroccoli. For the sake of distinc- 

 tion, broccolis may be divided into four sec- 

 tions, autumn^ winter, early spring, and 

 summer. 



To produce plants of the first section 

 suflSciently early that the heads may turn 

 ill during September, seeds should he sowji 

 in March. As the climatic conditions and 

 soil vary so much in different districts, it is 

 useless to lay down any hard-and-fast rules 

 as to the date of seed sowing, or whether 

 the plants should he raised under glass in 

 •a cold frame, or on an open border ; for 

 while in the south the seeds might be sown 

 rn the open^ in the north it would he 

 Jiecessary to raise the plants under glass. 

 But whichever mode is adopted the plants 

 should not be allowed to become over- 



sh 



large 



permanent quarters as soon as 

 enough. This section requires deeply -....^^ 

 fertile soil to' produce fine heads of close 

 and delicate texture. We do not advocate 

 allownig them to remain until full grown, 

 like those one often sees in the markets : 

 they should be cut when young and before 

 the leaves have unfolded sufficiently to ex- 

 .pose the curd. 



To grow heads of this class the plants 

 must be allo-wed ample space for the leaves 

 to become fully developed, otherwise the 

 heads will be disappointing. From two feet 

 to thirty inches each way according to the 

 quality of the land, will be found a suitable 

 distance; and if the land is extra fertile 

 another six inches will be found none too 

 much, as plants are apt to be drawn when 

 grown within the four walls of the kitchen 



border in March, care being taken to pro- 

 tect It from tlie ravages of birds, which 

 are usually very troublesome at this season 

 of the year. When the plants are large 

 enough to handle they should be pricked 

 out, so as to induce them to grow as sturdily 

 as possible, lliey should be large enou-rh 

 for transplanting by tlie end of May or 

 early in June. 



Do not overcrowd, as it is far better to 

 have Jialf a dozen presentable heads than 

 a dozeji poor ones. Keep tlie plants well 

 supplied %vith moisture through the sum- 

 mer should the season be dry. In addition 

 to the above-named tlier.- is a variety of 

 Early Sprouting that is very useful, and 

 being more hardy than the others it needs 

 no protection. 



Late Winter and Early Spring. 



In the third section tliei 

 choice of varieties, as this includes those 

 m use during March, April, and the early 

 part of May, and every seedsman has a 



'e is a large 



guard against this lift the plants in the 

 autumn so as to check their growth, ami 

 where they have grown at all Jeggy plant 

 tliem deeper in the soil with their lieads 

 facing the north. It frequently happens, 

 where the garden is situated in a low, damp 

 position, and the soil is of a heavy reten- 

 tive nature, that broccolis suffer seriously 

 during severe winters uidess some protec- 

 tion of tliis kind is aff"(U'<le<l them; espe- 

 cially if the autumn has been mild^ with 

 more than the normal rainfall, as tlie 

 plants then grow until quite late, and are 

 therefore very sappy, aiul liable to suffer. 

 ^ This section contains such varieties as 

 Snow White, Ahiin Crop, Leamington, Safe- 

 guard, and a whole liost of others.' The 

 seeds should ^oa u in the open ground 

 in April, and hetor<^ th<^ plants beoomo 

 c]'ow<led ; if it is Tiot possihh^ to transfer 

 them to their p*^riiui iieiu ijiuwlcrs they 

 should be prirkt^l om in an <)])<'i/ jWace 

 about six iiu lies ajiai't. If the soil is made 

 fairly firm growth will not he so rapid, and 



4 >4 ^ ' M ^ 



BBOCCOLI SUTTON'S WINTER MAMMOTH. 



A mid-winter variety, remarkable for its 



and excellent quality. 



large, finely-formed, self-protected heads. 

 Introduced by Messrs. Sutton and Sons, Eeading-. 



garden. Michaelmas White, Self-Protett- • , • , . i • 



ing, and Ant.umn P..v+^+i^ ' n „„„ i ^^txial vanoty of liis own to recommend. 



Protect ^,.„ . 



janeties that may be included in this sec- 

 tion. 



Early Winter Supplies. 



We now come to the earlv winter kinds, 

 *»ch as Sutton's Winter Mammoth, 

 ^hnstmas White, Snow's, Vanguard, and 

 «ome others. Most of these are somewli.it 

 yfnder; therefore, in cold, damp places 

 wiey will requu-e protection in severe 

 ^weather. It is a goo<l plan to lift them 

 wnere possible and plant them in cold pits 

 •«r trames but where this is not practicable 

 tftey should ibe transferred to a south bor- 



Dl?n/ V""* ""''^"^^^ «f November and 

 d towards the wall : 



c«n\ ''"'m ^''^''^ weather set in, they 

 S ^ *f protected from frost with 

 ^ne aid of mats and litter. This is usually 



^iatitr^J! "^^^^ broccolis are most appre- 

 their '^'''^"''^ ^ ''^^'^^ ^^tra paim in 



lla^ J?^ l'^"^'*'- ^« sturdy 

 ^ ""^ tJie seeds should be sown on a. wfirm 



To grow good broccoli of this class, as most planted. 



therefore le^ liable to .suffer when trans- 



gardeners are aware, nee<ls some special 

 })repai'ation of the soil j especially in old 

 kit< lu ri gardens that have been cropped 

 for years with some of the brassica family. 

 This is particularly so with the light soils, 

 as on such the plants make slow progress 

 in hot weather. It is a good plan where 

 such ground has to be dealt with to 

 jnanure in the autumn and dig as deeply 

 as the soil w411 allow : then leave it to be- 

 come somewdiat consolidattnl so as to con- 

 serve the moisture as much pos.sible. It 



ood 



dress- 



ing in springy using such manure as dis- 

 solved bones, sulphate of ammonia, kainit, 

 or sulphate of soda. The plants should be 

 inserted in the ground as it was left in 

 s-pring, there being no need to cultivate 

 again. It is very annoying after one has 

 been at the trouble to produce a fine 

 brea<lth of i)lants wliich look promising in 

 autumn to find the greater portion of them 



been 



Late Spring- Supplies. 



The last section contains such varieties 

 as Universal Late Queen^ Stand well, 

 Latest of All, and the like, and these when 

 well grown will usually give a supj>]y until 

 cauliflowers are plentiful from the open 

 ground. The seeds of this section should 

 be sown from the middle of April to the 

 first week in May, according to the district. 

 Some of them are strong-growing kinds, 

 making large leaves, and therefore should 

 be allowed more room to <lcvc!op than the 

 dwa rf er ones. T n i ve rsa 1 i s the finest 

 variety I have grown in this class, and 

 those who have not alrea<ly <ione so would 

 do well to give it a trial. TiroccMili is very 

 largely grown for market : in some <listricts 

 it follows tilt* early potatf»e^. Whoh^ train 

 Ioadf> ar<^ sent to the various towns i?i the 



North, and at the present time Winter 

 Mammoth is sent from Cornwall, packe^l in 



H. C, Prinsep. 



To crates 



