They say that if March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb. It certainly came in fierce and bitterly cold this year. Still, signs of spring are there. The Juneau Community Garden board members were busy planting flats for the Annual Plant Sale and Sandy Williams has his tomato and cucumber seeds laid out, ready to be planted. Spring will come, eventually.
Now is the time to begin growing certain members of the Brassicae family. Brassicas include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower. Start them in four-inch pots, sowing 2 to 3 seeds per pot. As the seeds sprout, keep the hardiest plant and take a scissors to clip off the others near the soil line. Pulling out, rather than cutting, unwanted plants can impact the roots of the seedling you’re fostering.
Many types of broccoli do well here in Southeast. They include Waltham 29, Packman, Arcadia, Fiesta, Belstar, and Small Miracle. Don’t expect the large head that you purchase at the store. Our broccoli tends to produce a small central head, but you can get multiple harvests off the side shoots.
Begin clipping off the stalk when the flower buds are tightly curled and harvest regularly. Utilize all the plant. Because they’re so tender, you can eat the stem and leaves. They don’t have the texture of the flowering stalk, but the distinctive taste is there.
Try Long Island Improved, Franklin, Rubine, or Dwarf Improved varieties of Brussel sprouts. This plant needs a longer time to come to fruition. Normally, the buds don’t even begin to show until you’re harvesting your carrots in late August. They are hardy and can endure frost.
As a bonus, cold improves their flavor so there’s no need to rush out and pick. You also don’t have to wait until the entire stalk is ready. Brussel sprouts are incandescent like fireweed. They mature from the bottom up. Begin harvesting the lower sprouts as they ripen.
Although our summers are not in league with the giant cabbages of the Mat-Su Valley, cabbage does quite well. Traditional green colored varieties include Early Jersey, Golden Acre, and Stonehead. Roma Red is an early producing red variety. Savoy King produces a large drumhead type with crinkly leaves that are mild and sweet. Another option is Deadon, a semi-savoy type.
If you want to get a mix between broccoli and cauliflower, grow Romanesco. For cauliflower, try Cheddar, Extra Early Snowball, Candid Charm, Graffiti, and Veronica. Snowball and Candid Charm are a creamy white color, Cheddar has an orange-tinge, and Graffiti is purplish. Veronica produces-inch heads that form from clusters of swirling chartreuse spires.
Shallots are usually planted in the fall, but they can also be sown in the spring for a late harvest. Try Sante, potato onion, or Dutch red. You’ll need to wait until the snow melts and the soil is workable to plant. Looking out my window into a landscape of white with snowflakes drifting down, it’s hard to imagine when that will be. But, it will happen.
• Corinne Conlon is a freelance writer based out of Juneau. She can be reached at dirtgirlgardening@gmail.com.
