You are in Blogs / Beeker's Blog / Vegetable Gardening /

Category: Vegetable Gardening | Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 4:49 pm

---

I ended up pulling that broccoli.
At least I have some room to walk now.
I read that my zone 5/6 (I'm right on the line) has a little more time to plant for an autumn harvest. I plan to do that this week and coming weekend. Maybe I can get some broccoli after all.
We finally had a weekend of sunshine so I could see where our shade bed will be moved to. It only needs to be moved about 8 feet and, if I have the materials, I can make it larger. I have made plans to change the veggies around a bit next year so there won't be cross pollination among my toms and squash. *fingers crossed*
Since we use cinder-blocks for the border, I plan to use the holes for the carrots and radishes, that way the resident rabbit can't get at them. The plans are all there and drawn out. I just hope that I get enough space. *toes crossed too!*


This blog entry has been viewed 333 times

---

toni wrote on Mon Aug 11, 2014 5:11 pm:

Good luck with the fall garden and keeping the rabbits at bay.
Don't forget to take photos.

I have plans for trying a fall garden this year. Very warm weather continues down here into November so I should have plenty of time.

---

mart wrote on Tue Aug 12, 2014 2:15 pm:

Why in the world are you worried about cross pollination between tomatoes and squash?? Two different species will not cross. I plant tomatoes and squash next to each other every year because the bees that love squash flowers will also get the flowers on the tomatoes faster.

---

Beeker wrote on Tue Aug 12, 2014 2:35 pm:

Hi Mart. Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. I have 3 different types of tomatoes and 4 different types of squash, not including watermelons and cucumbers. So I've split out one of my tomatoes, the cucumbers and one of the winter squash into the other garden so those won't cross-pollinate with the others of their kind; plum tomatoes with beefsteak tomatoes, butternut squash with acorn squash or yellow summer squash. That will give me more room to be able to spread the other like kinds further from each other. My gardens are small, so I hope diagonal opposite corners are far enough apart.

Thank you, Toni. I'll try to take photos. I'm bad like that. I get to work and focus. I'll try to remind myself to stop every so often to take a picture or two.

---

mart wrote on Tue Aug 12, 2014 8:18 pm:

They will not cross just being planted next to each other. To keep the from happening you would have to move them a lot farther than that. Most of the pollinating is done by wind and insects. And if they did it only affects the seed. So if they crossed and you saved seed it would show up next year. If the tomatoes are hybrids, they never reproduce the same as the one you bought.

---

Sjoerd wrote on Tue Aug 12, 2014 11:32 pm:

Have you thought of planting Purple Sprouting Broccoli?

---

Beeker wrote on Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:06 pm:

Mart, I only buy and plant heirlooms, plant them at opposite corners from the other varieties, with other tall veggies between them in hopes that it will at least minimize any cross pollination.

Hi Sjoerd. No, I haven't considered that. The information on it says that it takes 200 days from germination to maturity. I just went with the Calabrese. What do you like about the Purple Sprouting Broccoli? Is it more reliable? What is it like?

---

Sjoerd wrote on Wed Aug 13, 2014 9:51 pm:

http://www.gardenstew.com/viewtopic.php?p=132168#132168

The above link is to a thread that I wrote a while ago now.

I like this plant because it is easier to grow (for me), although I do not know why it should be.

I like being able to harvest it in the winter and/or early spring.

There are several different types and they can be planted to harvest at different times.

It is fun to experiment with new things sometimes. If you have never grown it, you may enjoy experimenting too.

If you do grow this sometimes, let me know. I'd like to follow your progress with it.

---

Beeker wrote on Thu Aug 14, 2014 12:04 pm:

Wow, it is so pretty. It sounds like it is more reliable although it takes longer to mature. I think I will give it a try next season.
You can grow and harvest in the winter?
I'm a bit confused. What zone are you? What are your winters like?
Our winters can be quite tough. We don't bother growing anything around here through the winter. The ground is frozen solid and we can get no snow, or 3 feet of heavy, wet snow, starting as early as the end of October. We never know what it will be like and the almanacs are not helpful. It is quite frustrating. Last year, I started keeping the weather statistics and am watching the trends. We have been in a cooling trend with more moisture for the past few years. This summer we have only hit 90 degrees (F) three times, not consecutively. Thankfully, the humidity hasn't been half as bad as previous years.
The leaves are already starting to change and the lows are in the 50s. It is turning out to be a short season for gardeners.

---

Sjoerd wrote on Fri Aug 15, 2014 7:38 am:

Hiya Beeker,
I think that you will like it if you enjoy the flavour of the "normal" calabrese.

I have harvested it in late january and february before. I did find out that one can plant them at various times and thus manipulate the harvest time.

I do not recall where you live, but when you sow and when you harvest must be tailored to a schedule determined by your geographical region.

I believe that my country is on latitude with Maine or Nova Scotia over your way.
My area is on line with Norwich in Great Britain.

Now, when you are ready to order your seeds for next year, we can talk about which "Purple Sprouting's" you may want to plant. I have tried four different types and I can tell you a bit about them and how they did here.

Tja-- just thinking about those delicious little florets makes me hungry.

---

Beeker wrote on Fri Aug 15, 2014 2:31 pm:

Hi Sjoerd,
I'm on the cusp of zones 5 and 6.

It seems like I'm not that good at scheduling my sowing.
I guess soil amendment and timing are not my strong points.

I do like broccoli. I love it raw or cooked. The stems I prefer raw over cooked, though. The florets are perfect any way.

---

Sjoerd wrote on Sat Aug 16, 2014 7:38 am:

Hiya Beeker,

Those can be challenging zones.
Yeah, I'm a big fan of broccoli (and most brassica's for that matter).
Having said that, the soil and location here can sometimes be challenging.

BTW--the idea of using cinder blocks for your carrots is inspired! Great idea.I really hope that you will post the progression of this project. There may be folks on here that would want to use that idea.
Nifty.

---

Leave a Comment

You are in Blogs / Beeker's Blog / Vegetable Gardening /