Last week I was at an allotment and one of the gardeners had pulled out all the calabrese because the leaves had been attacked by pigeons and he thought it was too damaged and too slow to grow. So, he pulled out the lot and dumped them. Me, being the person who hates to see things thrown out, took some plants to re-home them.
So here are my poor little calabrese plants... saved from the bin... but maybe the roots have been disturbed too much and maybe they won't come to much? I kind of like the idea of waiting to see what happens. I have to admit I know little about calabrese and I had to do a google search to find out what the difference was between broccoli and calabese. Two interesting facts: calabrese is for Autumn use and are faster growing than broccoli.
Would anyone else try to save the discarded calabrese plants?
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| Above: My own, green leaved, pigeon-damage-free Calabrese plant which seems to be growing very slowly. It was planted as a plug plant in December. Will it ever produce? |
Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.
Good for you, I hoe they do well for you!
ReplyDeleteI don't know about planting something someone else has pulled up but I would have left the plant in the first place to see if it recovered after netting it.
ReplyDeleteWe left our pigeon ravaged broccoli and cabbage in last year. Ravaged in December some cabbages produced small hearts in late spring but the broccoli never recovered to produce a crop. Worth a try though, nothing much to loose and plenty to gain if it grows.
ReplyDeleteI like Sue's comment. I would be afraid, too, of transporting germs. Do plants get germs?
ReplyDeleteBrocoli was my favorite to grow.
ReplyDeleteBringing in a plant from someones else's garden always has some dangers - e.g. you might be introducing Club Root or something similar, but if you are prepared to take that chance, then it might be worthwhile. Calabrese occupies space for a long time, so planting it half-grown might actually be a cunning ploy! I don't expect you will get a big crop, but if you give the plants some TLC (and some protection from pigeons!) then you'll probably get something.
ReplyDeleteThose plants do look quite well pecked but you never know, they could quite easily recover and then you'll have a harvest with little work.
ReplyDeleteI hope they do well. I must admit I would probably give damaged plants to my chickens, but it will be interesting to see if you can revive them!
ReplyDeleteI would have rescued them, too. I hope they thrive. :o)
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