Try growing purple sprouting broccoli

Last fall, I planted a dozen starts of purple sprouting broccoli. It was a first attempt. The crop was fairly successful, but there were a few things I learned compared to growing crown broccoli and Chinese broccoli. Purple sprouting broccoli is well worth the wait and extra space. The nutty, chewy leaves and numerous purple heads are delicious. The purpleness fades to deep green when cooked. Here are a few more things to know:

It takes time: It was a good five months from planting the starts before a small harvest began. It can take around 200-plus days until cutting. This means next year I will dedicate a special bed for a crop of purple sprouting broccoli because this season it is hogging the planned carrot bed.

It gets big: Those cute little purple broccoli starts planted last fall grew tall and wide. Plants were about 3-feet tall and about as wide when buds first began to show. Best to plant this broccoli in a wind protected area, or stake them up, as they can topple over in a storm or spring wind event.

It is low maintenance: Once the rainy season began, plants were mulched with rice straw and left on their own. One of the best things about fall/winter broccoli is that there are no pests like aphids and green cabbage worms that can render heads and leaves inedible at times.

Harvest is long: Every time you cut the heads of purple sprouting broccoli more come back. This is a good value crop, even though it takes up space. It seems like now they will be in the vegetable patch for a few more weeks. Now that the days are warmer and longer, the tasty buds are coming on quickly.