The Broccoli nears harvest-time

My "Rudolph" Purple Sprouting Brooccoli is described as an Extra Early variety. With a name like that most people probably expect it to be ready in time for Christmas (I wish!), but no such luck. However even if it's only going to be ready in mid-February it will still be very welcome. Here in the UK the main season for PSB is probably more like March and April, although these days new varieties have been bred to extend the harvesting season and reduce the so-called Hungry Gap, when few fresh vegetables are ready for picking.

I have my PSB covered with netting just to ensure that the pigeons don't tuck into it, and foxes don't dig it up, but at the weekend I temporarily rolled back the netting so that I could give the plants a dose of Growmore fertiliser - a boost of energy to get them sprinting to the finishing-line - so I siezed the opportunity to take a few photos.

This is a vegetable that is undoubtedly just as handsome as any flower!

Can you see how the underside of the florets is a creamy colour, rather than purple like the bit that is exposed to the light?

Meanwhile, the "Red Arrow" plant next door to Rudolph is a lot further away from being ready, which is just what I wanted.

If you grow plants that are all of the same variety they will probably all mature at about the same time (especially if they are F1 varieties). Of course if you are growing for the freezer, so to speak, it may be that you do actually want them to mature all at the same time... I have six plants, three of each of the two types mentioned above, so I will have a harvest spread over several weeks. (Soon!)