Planting Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Twenty-four hours after my Broad Bean plants came out of the ground they have been replaced by some PSB plants:

I cut the Broad Bean plants down to ground level, but I left the roots in place. They have nodules on them that retain nitrogen, which will be beneficial to the PSB plants. I also added Growmore general-purpose fertiliser to restore some vigour to the soil.

Can you see that there is a plant tied to a bamboo can in the middle of the bed? It is a volunteer “Love-in-a-Mist” (Nigella Damascena). I hadn’t the heart to pull it up, so it can take its chances and live with the PSB for a bit…

I have planted six PSB plants, two each of “Early Purple Sprouting” and “Rudolph”, and one each of “Red Arrow” and “Red Spear”. This is a deliberate ploy to try to extend the cropping season. This is how big they are at planting time:

I normally plant them quite deep, with the soil level with the lowest leaf. This will encourage their roots to go deep which will in turn aid stability. So here we are – six plants settling in to their new home.

In a line around the edge of the bed I have planted some Corn Salad (aka Lamb’s Lettuce, Mache) and some Landcress (aka American Cress).