Growing Broccoli Sprouts

Watch out for balky kohlrabi

Kohlrabi is a fun vegetable to grow. Leafy stems sprout from odd-looking, above-ground balls, like little alien spaceships. The white flesh is sweet and crisp, like an apple, and is delicious served raw with dip.

But if the weather turns hot when it's time for the stems to swell, kohlrabi may balk.

Fortunately, another chance for kohlrabi is coming up soon. Most varieties take only about six weeks from seed to harvest. Seeds planted at the end of July or in early August should mature in fall, when the weather is normally more conducive to kohlrabi's development.

Before planting, I dig an extra helping of compost into the soil to nourish kohlrabi plants. I avoid adding nitrogen fertilizer, which encourages leaves at the expense of kohlrabi's swollen stems.

I like to plant both purple and white varieties because they look pretty growing together, but when they're peeled they all look alike.

Once the plants are up and growing, thin kohlrabi to 4 inches apart to give each one room to develop.

Kohlrabi is ready to harvest as soon as each stem swells to about 2 inches in diameter. Unlike spring-planted kohlrabi, though, kohlrabi plants maturing in the fall will hold well in the garden without turning woody.

Cauliflower is another crop that is much more likely to be successful when planted to mature in the fall. I've had good luck when I plant seeds of white Snow Crown in July.

Purple cauliflower varieties such as Violet Queen are even more dependable, spring or fall. Part cauliflower and part broccoli, purple cauliflower gets its undemanding nature from its broccoli heritage.

Usually my broccoli plants grow well all summer, producing side shoots. But when the weather is warm and wet, I've had a few plants start to rot after I harvest the main head.

A plant infected with bacterial soft rot has to be removed. But sometimes I find that there's already a fresh new shoot coming up from the roots, perfect for producing a fall harvest.

Harvesting broccoli heads by cutting at a 45 degree angle with a sharp knife helps prevent soft rot by encouraging the rain to run off rather than collect in the stalk.

Cabbage butterflies seem to prefer broccoli and cabbage to kohlrabi and cauliflower. Nevertheless, all four relatives need protection if they are to make it to the table in palatable condition. Best bet is a product containing "Bt" (Bacillus thuringiensis), such as Thuricide or Dipel. Excluding cabbage butterflies with a lightweight cover is another option.

Did You Know That Broccoli Sprouts Have Antioxidants - mimialbert.com

The effects of a high dose of antioxidants on the body are extremely beneficial. Its almost impossible to get too much. First of all, the antioxidants in broccoli sprouts are great for stopping both aging and cell decay, thus resulting in a healthier body. Reducing your risk of cancer is another thing they do.

As for other things that are as packed with antioxidants as broccoli sprouts, there are only a few of them and people have jumped on the current health craze by eating them. It’s not just broccoli sprouts; from Green tea to Vitamin C, antioxidants are the biggest thing in health nowadays. It should come as no surprise.

For many people, sprouts are a risky proposition. If they are commercially grown, they can carry food-borne diseases which are especially likely to effect the old and very young, as well as people with compromised immune systems. Fortunately, you can ensure that your broccoli sprouts are not over-saturated if you grow them at home and you will use safe fertilizers which will not infect you with e. coli.

To consume these little dynamos, one of the healthiest way is to grow broccoli sprouts at home on your own. In a full grown broccoli, you can get the same helpful antioxidants even though broccoli sprouts have the advantage of containing 50 times the quantity in mature plants. Safety is another advantage of growing broccoli sprouts as opposed to buying them.

You don’t even have to eat them plain as if they were just medicine. Besides being marinated and served on chicken, broccoli sprouts are great in many culinary combinations such as over rice and on salads. They can be used anywhere that bean sprouts might be called for. But the taste of broccoli sprouts is what some people are not quite fond of.

For them, there is broccoli sprout extract. Even if you do think that they taste good, this extract might be the logical choice for you. If you don’t have enough room to grow plants, then broccoli sprout extract has the advantage of packing a huge dose into pills that are small and affordable.

But before you go out and buy a whole pallet of broccoli sprouts, you need to remember that this is only one way in which you can get antioxidants to help your body and reduce the risk of cancer. Even though it’s not as much as the dose that’s contained in broccoli sprouts, tea and multivitamins also contain antioxidants as do a lot of green and leafy vegetables.

Author bio: Writer Vickie Watkins is a dog enthusiast. If you’re looking for the pick of the litter, check these English bulldog puppies for sale . These litters of English bulldogs for sale are wrinkly with a massive nose rope and overdone. One of these classic dogs is perfect for your family .

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