The broccoli from the title

A few words on broccoli. I first discovered the delight of growing these vegetables a few years ago. They were low maintenance except for the short period during late Autumn when Cabbage White butterflies fluttered about laying little potential chompers on the underside of the leaves and I needed to go out daily and squish the eggs.

Broccoli, I discovered grows more steadily and reliably during the colder months, finally left unmolested by those fair weather butterflies and needing less water.
I also found broccoli suffers no other problems besides early larval damage and having grown peas and silverbeet in the same location and seeing all the plants dusted with powdery mildew I steer towards broccoli each Autumn as the main winter crop.

To prepare the soil after pulling out the faded summer plants, I scattered some blood and bone and aged sheep manure about. I planted the little seedlings and mulched with sugar cane mulch and watered deeply. These days I liquid feed with some fish emulsion when I remember but mainly I just watch them as they do their thing.

Now a confession. I don't particularly crave broccoli. I do enjoy eating most vegetables but I enjoy eating lettuce, beans, peas and many other vegetables over broccoli. And yet, for the past few winters I have devoted my entire patch to growing a crop with some afterthought plantings of coriander and rocket on the side.

They stand in two rows by my front veranda, cupping their leaves to sun and rain. I like looking at the rain drops forming huge beads along their generous leaves and seeing the flower heads forming in amongst it all is a cheerful sight against the salvias and Miscanthus and all the other ornamentals that take their place in the front yard. Perhaps I just like the look of them, all orderly and behaving in contrast to the rambling nature of the rest of the garden. The latter is just as beautiful and provides a great deal of pleasure and drought tolerance but sadly remains inedible. Perhaps if we did not have such strict water restrictions, in part to deal with dropping Melbourne water storage levels, as well as my home's lack of mega water storage capabilities, my entire garden would be blended for ornamental effect but completely edible.

Some words on broccoli goodness that mum never told you about. Raw or lightly cooked broccoli is said to be a cancer fighter containing phytochemicals and antioxidants and like other brassicas or cruciferous vegetables helps deactivate estrogen that can promote tumor growth in breast cells.

No doubt once my crop is ready I will eat some and give some away and the plants will reward me with side shoots until late Winter when I am thinking of summer crops of tomatoes, eggplants, capsicums and basil and the edible garden will ramble once more.