Purple sprouting broccoli

Littlegrower

Need any advice on how to grow purple sprouting broccoli. Best time to sow seeds, transplanting, soil type, watering, winter protection? I've read online that you can leave them over winter in the garden but nothing is mentioned about if I can leave them in the frost or snow. 

Thanks in advance 

Dovefromabove

Yes, they're totally hardy in frost and snow ... but you do need to protect them from pigeons who will strip the plants bare of leaves when they're hungry in harsh weather.

You will also need to net them against the cabbage white butterflies in the summer.

All the information you need is here https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-purple-sprouting-broccoli/ 

  

BobTheGardener

Agree with Dove, especially about protection from woodpigeons and cabbage white butterfly!  I sow the seeds in early spring along with the other brassicas in modules and transplant into 10cm pots when they have a couple of true leaves, finally planting into their final position when they have 5 true leaves.  Plant them deep so the soil is level with where the lowest leaves join the stalk and firm the ground down well around each plant.

They grow best in heavy soils but add well-rotted manure (bagged stuff from GCs is fine) to feed and help hold moisture in the soil as they are quite greedy and also don't do at all well in dry conditions.  They can grow quite big when happy so give them plenty of space and remember they'll be there for more-or-less a whole year.

Skandi

After three years of trying to overwinter them and only having 3 plants survive I've given up, I had no problems in the UK but a couple of weeks of -15C and constant damp the rest of the time is too much for them. so make sure your soil drains over winter or they will rot off at the bottom.