Calabrese Marathon F1

Marathon F1 is a lovely, reliable calabrese with mid-sized, fine-grained blue-green heads. It’s a hardy, adaptable variety that handles the cold well—making it a great choice for northern gardens. Suitable for both early and late sowings, you can sow from March to June for a summer crop, or July/August for a later harvest. Allow around 10–15 weeks from sowing to picking.

SOW: perfect for successional sowing every 2 weeks or so as Marathon F1 can be started from March to August. We like to start them in pots, 10mm deep, and plant out at the 2/3 leaf size. They can reach harvest stage in about 10-14 weeks.

GROW: do not let them dry out – becoming thirsty upsets them. Cut the bluish-green head before the flowers open, and it will then produce smaller side shoots that are also for harvesting. Picking regularly will encourage more shoots.

EAT: we like to lightly steam our calabrese and enjoy it fresh but it can also be frozen. To Freeze – blanch for 2 minutes, plunge into cold water, drain and pack.