Broccoli 'Romanesco natalino' too tall

[Choggy]

Last year, I tried growing Romanesco Natalino Broccoli. I planted them later than the ideal (late June, which was because the garden wasn't ready to plant until then) and found that they quickly became very tall. There was no sign of anything even approaching a crop until so late in the year (November, maybe December, I think) that I'd given up on them entirely. However, just now I've noticed that I have one perfectly formed (albeit very small) head on one of them (which I've just tasted, raw, and it's beautiful!)

I really want to grow them again this year, in the hope I'll get something more usable this time, but they grew so tall and leggy so quickly! Is there any way to prevent them growing so tall (these were probably 120cm long, in the end) and encourage them to flower with something a bit larger (the one I got was only about 5cm across and took 8 months to arrive..!)

Also, does anyone know whether these will grow in pots? I've got raised beds and not a great deal of space to grow something this large and since they only seem to produce one head per plant, I think I'd like a few, really, to give a crop worth harvesting.

Thanks in advance

[rainbowgardener]

Plant them NOW (assuming your ground isn't frozen, I'm thinking not in UK)! They are a cold weather crop and do not set heads well once it warms up.

Other than that, just be sure they are in full sun and rich soil. With an early start, they will set a good head and once that is harvested, put out smaller side shoots.

I haven't done it, but I don't see why you couldn't grow broccoli in a good sized container, but it would be one plant per container.

[applestar]

Yeah. That's what I was thinking too. It seems like you planted too late for spring planted summer harvest and too early for summer/fall planted fall/winter harvest. For fall harvest, I'm supposed to plant mid-July~early-August, but I get a hard freeze starting around late Oct/early Nov. If you don't get frost/freeze or get them much later, than you should be able to plant later than that. If your plants formed heads now, maybe the thing to do is to count back the days to maturity and plant then. (OR plant NOW like rainbowgardener said ).

They sulk when it gets hot and won't try to form any buds/heads until it gets cool again. Also if you give too much Nitrogen, you'll end up with great big growth, but delayed/no buds/heads until the Nitrogen runs out.

[Choggy]

Wonderful! Thanks both I'll get into the garden this weekend and get them in... and I think I'll also use the "count backwards" tip to see when I'd need to plant to get a second crop in 12 months.