Typhoon brocolli (now a sickly cabbage)

[adekun]

The top of one of my broccoli plants got blown off (all of it above the waist).

Any chance it might regrow?
Adekun

[Wombat]

Ususally you will get a stack of side shoots that, while not as big, are just as tasty. But once the main shoot is gone.........that's it!

Nev

[adekun]

Thanks for tip. What's left of it has escaped the compost bin.

[adekun]

I ended up replacing it with a cabbage. It just wasn't doing anything - perhaps if it was a bit bigger to begin with, it would of been okay. I now have a cabbage a few weeks old that is a yellow/brown colour.

Is the spot cursed or do I need to change something?

[adekun]

Any ideas? The cabbage is just sitting there like a cabbage.

[digiveg]

I guess you could try...painting it green?

Sounds bad! Not a happy cabbage.

[the.fee.fairy]

have you tried giving it a good feed? It might be that because of the brocolli growing there before, the soil needs some nutrients replacing.

Give it a good feed of something nice (worm pee, nettle water, even cooked veg water) and see how it goes.

[Wombat]

Yep, fee has a good point. It is usally best to make the next plant from a different family - cabbage and broccoli both being brassicas. If the cabbage carks it maybe a turnip or something?

Nev

[adekun]

I expected it would be something simple, probably why I over looked it. I did think however, if I was my neighbour I'd spray it with some sort of hormone cocktail - it just didn't twig...
Since the the broccoli was only a few weeks old, I guessed it would be okay. My first year at growing veg, so the tips are welcome. I've used some radish soup I made in the past as feed - it was bloody awful. Unsure what worm pee is? Compost?



Anyone grown nettles? I need to find some first, took them for granted before. I want to make some tea.

[the.fee.fairy]

worm pee's real name is worm casts. Its the liquid that comes out of a wormery.

My grandmother told my dad that it was worm pee and the name stuck...

Smells horrible, but feeds the plants nicely!

[adekun]

What about coffee grounds? I used to put them into the compost bin, but I thought it would be better to apply them directly. I've been trying out some Cuban beans and nothing adverse has happened - to me or the plants.

[the.fee.fairy]

coffee grounds are good compost. Watch that they don't go mouldy on the plant though - i've got some herb troughs outside my kitchen window that get fed on leftover tea and tea leaves, and sometimes i go out there and find that the tea leaves have gone mouldy, so keep an eye out for that!

I use coffee grounds and tea leaves a lot in the veg patch in summer too - helps keep the slugs off. Apparently its either that the caffeine dries them out, or that they don't like sliding over the rough surface. Not quite sure which one it is, but it seems quite effective.

[adekun]

In the winter it's usual to drink Bancha here. It's made from roasted tea twigs with a little leaves and makes a good slug blockade.