Plant Series: Calabrese Green Sprouting Broccoli

Now that many of us are starting our seeds if not already seeing some little sprouts, it is time to really learn about our plants.  I have placed my first order with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and I simply can't wait to have the shipment arrive.


Each installment of this series will teach you about a different Heirloom seed plant.  Hopefully instilling confidence in you to start your own Heirloom seeds for your garden.

Calabrese Green Sprouting Broccoli

Photo Credit


"(B. oleracea) An Italian heirloom that was brought to America in the 1880s, 5-8" heads and many side shoots." Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds


These two words are simply different varieties of the same kind of plant:

Calabrese-Calabrese heads are on the larger side and are green

Broccoli-produces purple or white heads and is smaller

Most times Calabrese are marketed in the supermarkets under the name Broccoli.



How to Grow:

Calabrese can be planted in Early May, under covers about three weeks earlier. It prefers full sun but will tolerate up to partial shade and still produce nicely. It does prefer a well dug, rich in nutrients soil.


Harvesting/Storing:

For the best Broccoli (all types) begin picking before the flowers start to open. By removing the main head from the plant you will encourage the side shoots to continue producing heads. Both Calabrese and Broccoli freeze really well. All you really need to do is blanch the spears in salted water for about three minutes. Then let them cool out in the room for about five to ten minutes after which you can promptly freeze them.  If you prefer to use them right away they will store in your refrigerator for about one week. 

BROCCOLI FOLKLORE

The Romans were enamored with broccoli. Pliny the Elder, an Italian naturalist and writer, 23 to 79 CE, tells us the Romans grew and enjoyed broccoli during the first century CE. The vegetable became a standard favorite in Rome where the variety called Calabrese was developed. The Calabrese is the most common variety still eaten in the United States today. Before the Calabrese variety was cultivated, most Romans were eating purple sprouting broccoli that turned green when cooked.

Roman Emperor Tiberius, 14 BCE to 37 BCE, had a son named Drusius who took his love of broccoli to excess. Excluding all other foods, he gorged on broccoli for an entire month. When his urine turned bright green and his father scolded him severely for "living precariously," Drusius finally abandoned his beloved broccoli.

Roman farmers called broccoli "the five green fingers of Jupiter".