Two similar vegetables are sometimes called broccoflower . One is a craft - marked loan-blend between Brassica oleracea italica and Brassica oleracea botrytis , rich in vitamin A than either of its parent and also well endowed with vitamin C. Its cauliflower - influence yellow-bellied - greenish heads have a sweet cauliflower - like gustatory sensation .
The other is also call Romanesco broccoli . Its lime - green heads with conical floret may consider up to 4 - 5 pound at matureness . Care for the two vegetables is similar , but Romanesco is slower to mature and can raise larger . you may reap Brassica oleracea botrytis - case broccoflower 70 days after transplant , but Romanesco ask well-nigh 100 days . Romanesco is an Italian heirloom with a nutty flavor and is a popular vegetable in fine restaurants .
How to Grow and Care for Broccoflower
Broccoflower is a nerveless - season crop . Northern gardener should transplant 4 - 6 week - former broccoflower seedlings outside 2 weeks before the spring free - frost date ( your local Cooperative Extension can secern you when that is ) . southerly growers may set transplants out in August for a declivity harvest or ( in very fond country ) flora seed in October for a winter harvest .
Broccoflower thrives in a very fertile grunge with lot of nitrogen . Add several column inch of ruined compost or well - rotted manure to your soil before planting . you could mix in in a small amount of blood meal for an extra nitrogen boost .
Mulching your broccoflower with lawn clippings ( from a lawn that ’s not treated with herbicides ) will serve to keep the soil coolheaded and weed - free as well as providing an superfluous nitrogen rise when the clippings break down . Biweekly feeding with compost Camellia sinensis or Pisces emulsion will help your broccoflower to boom .
Planting Broccoflower
Space transplants 2 - 3′ aside in each commission .
Set seeds 1/2″ cryptical and 3″ apart in row 2 or 3 feet apart .
lean to 2 - 3′ asunder .
Water regularly .
harvesting when head are 6 - 8″ across .
Cauliflower - like broccoflower demand less spacing than Romanesco . So , as a guideline , utilise 2 feet for broccoflower and close to 3 feet for Romanesco since it is a enceinte works .
Broccoflower and Romanesco Pests, Problems, and Diseases
Broccoflower and Romanesco suffer from the same environmental problems , blighter and disease as Brassica oleracea italica and cauliflower .
These are a few of them :
Verysmall headsmay be triggered by shock from cold conditions ( some growers recommend traverse plants when night temperatures drop below 50 , though I ’m not certain how this fit with the recommendation to transplant outside before the Robert Frost - liberal escort ) or by insufficient nitrogen . In to a fault warm atmospheric condition ( days over 86 F and Nox over 77 F ) broccoflower may not form heads at all .
vacuous stemsmay be triggered by boron deficiency . To prevent this , spray plants with kelp extract every 2 weeks , or plant broccoflower where you ’ve had a back crop of trefoil . empty stems may also be induce by extravagant atomic number 7 and overly broad plant life spacing . Experiment with different spacings to find out what ’s optimum for your soil .
Purple leavesindicate a phosphorus want . Spray your plants with fish photographic emulsion and add bone meal to your soil .
If your broccoflower’sleaves curl , ruck and change by reversal chicken , you may have an aphid or whitefly infestation . Look on the underside of leaves for tiny soft - bodied green , chocolate-brown or pink insects . aphid can be handpicked or killed with organic insecticidal soap . Ladybugs eat aphids . grievous bodily harm is the best therapeutic for whiteflies .
Ragged yap in leavesmay be due to cabbage loopers or cabbage worm , light green yellow - striped Caterpillar . Handpick them or spray with B thuringiensis .
Pinholes in your leavesare probably the body of work of flea beetles . Skeletonized leavesmay be because of the Mexican bean mallet . Leaves chewed to the stemsuggest the presence of veg weevil . Pyrethrum spray may control these pests . Pyrethrum is constitutive but toxic to bees – spray it in the evening when pollinators are n’t active .
If your plant haveyellowish spots on their leavesthat grow bloodless downy mold in besotted weather , they ’ve been hit by downy mold . If you get it early , attempt spraying an organic fungicide like copper or Bacillus subtilis . If it ’s well forward-looking , remove and ruin ( do not compost ) affected plants .
Weak , belittled - lead plants with black - distinguish lower leaveshave rhizoctonia . This ca n’t be cured . move out and destroy ( do not compost ) bear on plant . Do n’t plant cole craw on this soil in the next 3 years .
Ways to Prepare Broccoflower
handle it as you would cauliflower or broccoli . Eat it raw in salad or with inclination , pickle it , slice it into steak , add it to casseroles , poke fun it , sauté it with a bit of wine-coloured , steamer it and dish up it with cheese sauce … Also , you could cook the leaves of Romanesco Brassica oleracea italica as you would kale .
Here ’s a great telecasting on how to cut Romanesco Brassica oleracea italica :
Want to learn more about growing broccoflower and Romanesco?
See these helpful resource : Broccoflowerfrom University of ArizonaGrowing Romanesco broccolifrom University of Wisconsin Extension
