Broccoli Cardinal

Lovely Cardinal is a must have in your spring veggie garden when it will give you a delicious harvest of purple sprouting spears.  Reliable, great yield and well worth the wait for a feast.

SOW & GROW: 10-15mm seed depth, in a seed bed or in pots or modules, in April-June. Plant out when large enough during the summer, leave 50-60cm between plants. You may need to stake broccoli if your garden is not very sheltered as it is top heavy. Individual plants can crop for up to 8 weeks for eating fresh in March to May the following year. Pick the shoots before the flower buds open, keep picking to encourage more shoots but don’t strip a plant completely (or let it flower) as this will stop side shoots developing.

ENJOY: for the best flavour steam the florets as soon as possible after cutting. Serve up with white sauce, hollandaise or just with butter. Florets can be kept in the fridge in a poly bag for up to 3 days.