A fabulous choice: Purple Rain F1 is delicious raw or cooked and you have three terrific harvest options – cut whilst the head is tight closed and cook as you would cauliflower, allow the head to open a little and cut as florets, allow the head to stretch out and harvest spears. Regular picking will encourage fresh flushes and take you crop from late summer through to October.
Sow: 15–20mm deep in pots from February with warmth, or April to June. A later sowing in July or August is possible in a polytunnel. Harden off at the 2–3 leaf stage.
Grow: space at 30cm for a compact crop, or 45cm to extend the harvest window. Interplant with lettuce or baby leaves to shade roots, which can help prolong cropping, or use mulch for the same effect.
Enjoy: cut the main head when tight for use like cauliflower, then harvest florets or let them stretch into tender spears. Regular picking keeps the shoots coming.
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