Earthbox broccoli harvest

Misippi Egger

Thanks to the encouragement from 'rooster' and "Ross in Ventura", I got motivated to resume gardening in my Earthboxes. In late February I planted 8 broccoli and 6 cauliflower transplants. It stayed pretty cold (I actually had to bring them onto the porch and keep warm with a heater a couple of times). But finally the results. I cut 5 main heads Saturday and ended up with 5 pounds of fresh broccoli. I blanched and froze most of it for later enjoyment.

Here are a couple of pics of some of the heads. The plants are already putting out side shoots and I hope to get more small heads before the heat gets them (90* today).




I've got 2 boxes of herbs and 8 more boxes in a spring garden. Squash blooming like crazy...gotta try to cook some of those blooms.

www.earthbox.com

Boilermaker Ben

Misippi Egger wrote:

I've got 2 boxes of herbs and 8 more boxes in a spring garden. Squash blooming like crazy...gotta try to cook some of those blooms.

You might already be aware of this, but it was new to me, when I saw it on a cooking show a few days ago. Squash blossoms can be harvested for cooking without sacrificing a later harvest of squash. The trick is to only harvest the male blossoms (those with stamens) and leave the female blossoms (with pistils).

Great looking broccoli, by the way. We're looking forward to our first garden harvest this summer, and lots of canning and freezing. When you blanch the broccoli for freezing, how long do you blanch it?

Misippi Egger

Susan Egglaine (I think it was) posted recently some blossoms she egg'd.

I'm waiting until I have enough blossoms so I don't affect the pollination by picking the male blooms.

I soaked for 30 minutes in salt water (to rid it of insects), then blanched for 3 minutes. Then straight in to ice water for same time (3 min.). The hardest part was getting it dry enough to freeze. Some things I read said it had to be completely dry to freeze best. After a couple of hours of sitting out, it was still wet enough to play havoc :( on my food saver, even with folded paper towels in the bag to absorb any moving liquid. :ohmy: I think I got 6 bags of servings (about a pint each). This was my first experience doing this, by the way.

Cpt'n Cook

Wow, nice, I might try that next year. My boxes are ready for planting. Another two weeks or so to be on the safe side, here.

I bet they looked nice in the boxes!

Misippi Egger

They did ! Such HUGE leaves. The cauliflower heads are not quite ready for cutting. I have tied their leaves over the heads to keep them white, though.

I'm afraid the heat is going to make them bloom/bolt. Actually surprised they've done so well with the warm weather we have been having.

Good luck with your plantings.

I've got tomatoes, Okra, peas & beans, peppers, squash & zucchini going. Some of lower case bill's ADP pepper seeds are sprouting and I've got a couple of spots for them reserved. :ohmy:

BigA

Nice, can't beat home grown! Your lucky you can plant in February! I am still waste deep in snow and then usally flood water in March!!

Misippi Egger

Thanks. Welcome cool snap coming tomorrow (highs around 80 - instead of 90's).

field hand

Looks great. We're in the St Louis area, our broc is leaving out, will be a while before we have any heads. We had a good crop last year and blanched/froze several pounds. It didn't steam well as a side dish, but worked great in salads, etc. I envy you re the fresh shrimp, we really enjoy them. We try to spend part of the winter in the panhandle area and pass through the center of MS on the way down and back. Usually spend a night there each way. Always enjoy the local food.

Barry
Marthasville, MO

BigA

LOL :cheer: it is 36 and raining up here now, western part of the state just got snow! Sometimes i wonder why we live up here!! :S

Misippi Egger

When I post the heat and humidity (heat index) we are "enjoying" in July and August, you will quickly remember ! :laugh:

Misippi Egger

Give me a heads up when you know you are heading this way. We are in Madison, about 8 miles north of Jackson on I-55. If at all possible, we will serve up some good ole egg'd food for a fellow Egghead.

field hand

That's very generous of you, thanks for the offer. We normally take 55 from STL to Jackson and get on 49 to Hattisburg, spending a night at an rv park somewhere between Granada and Jackson. Right now we're planning on making the trip this year, leaving mid Dec. Would be great if we could get together.

I talked to my wife about your recommendation on "drying" the broccoli before freezing. Not sure we did a good job of this last year. Will incorporate this step into the process this year.

Should you get to our area, please let me know, would like to offer some "egg cooking" to you. Relatively speaking, we're start-ups, had the egg about a year, but sure enjoy it. Saw your earlier post with pic's of the new outdoor kitchen, looks very nice.

Barry
Marthasville, MO