Sow Brassicas for a year round supply of nutritious greens
Brassicas are a large family of leafy vegetables, all requiring similar seed sowing techniques. They can be sown at various times of the year; spring sowing produces crops from summer to early winter, summer sowing produces winter veggies and a winter sowing started off inside will produce early summer crops. With a vast choice of new varieties those bitter Brussels sprouts are a thing of the past.
We are going to be growing Cauliflower ‘All Year Round’ a traditional, easy and reliable variety with nice white curds which can be sown from February to May and again in October. Sowing a few seeds 2 weeks apart will ensure you have a succession of produce rather than a glut. We are also growing Cabbage ‘Greyhound’ a long pointed variety which matures quickly and is easy to grow. It is a good variety to grow where space is limited as it only takes up a little more than half the room of the large variety.
We are starting them off inside so that they have a head start as the weather in the Lake District is not really suited to early sowing outside, but if you live in a mild area where the soils warms up early then they can be sown directly outside.
You will need:
- seed tray
- seed compost
- seed
- something which holds water to stand the tray or pots in
- sieve
- label
Fill the tray with John Innes Seed Compost, tap the tray on the bench to level the compost.
Sprinkle the seed thinly over the surface and cover with a thin sprinkling of sieved compost.
Stand the tray in water for 15 - 20 minutes until damp and place on a sunny windowsill or in the greenhouse.