Mar
12
If you live in one of the more northern climates, you might want to get a jump on the growing season. I live in Michigan. I try to plant as soon as possible. This year, since the winter was mild, the ground never really froze. We had an early start to spring like temperatures. The …
Nov
03
The Brassica family of vegetables is one that contains many different members – like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts. There is one member of the family I recently discovered called Romanesco. I first heard of it on the Food Network show, Chopped. I bought some for the first time at my local farmer’s market, …
Jun
24
Last week, I got my first taste of homegrown broccoli this year. Five of my Packman broccoli plants were ready for harvest. I let them grow as long as I could. At the point I cut them off the florets were beginning to spread apart. If you see this happening this is when you need …
Jun
08
When you are growing broccoli it is easy to look at the plant and wonder how does broccoli come from this? This is why it is exciting to watch the head forming. I recently saw the first heads forming on some of my Packman broccoli plants (click on the picture to enlarge to see the …
Jun
03
One of the biggest challenges to growing vegetables can be pests. They show up unexpected and unwanted. After transplanting my Packman broccoli I noticed a few holes in my leaves, clearly caused by some kind of bug. It could be a lot of things, but I haven’t been able to determine the guilty party. However …
May
16
Introduction Some things work so well they are worth repeating. That is the case with the Packman variety of broccoli. I grew it last year and was very impressive with the results. Last summer was one of the hottest ones in years. Broccoli can bolt or go to seed in hot temperatures. It likes to …
May
09
Introduction Broccoli is a crop that is available in the grocery store year around. But it doesn’t have the flavor and tenderness of home grown broccoli. This is why it’s one of the crops I look to grow each year. Last year, I had excellent results growing the Packman variety. I am also growing it …
Aug
21
Question: When to Plant Broccoli for the Fall? Answer: RIGHT NOW! If you wish to grow broccoli for a fall crop, you need to be planting those seeds in the ground in the month of August at the latest. I planted my broccoli this month and I live in Michigan. Broccoli grows well in the …
Jul
23
Click here to read all my posts on Packman Broccoli. Yesterday, I harvested some side shoots from several of my broccoli plants. The determining factor into when to harvest them was I saw signs of a couple of them getting ready to flower. I could tell this because I saw a tiny bit of yellow …
Jul
22
Click here to read all my posts on Packman Broccoli. I have 4 broccoli plants growing in my raised bed and at this point all the central heads have been harvested. Now the side shoots are starting to grow. The side shoots will not get as big as the central head. Just keep on eye …
Welcome to my blog! My name is Eric. I live in Saline, Michigan with my wife (Donna) and two daughters, Hannah (4) and Autumn (1). I started this blog in October 2009 to share my culinary experiences from making my own food from scratch to what I find at farmer's markets and grocery stores.
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