Grow Romanesco in your own garden: We present suitable varieties and give tips and tricks from sowing, through care and fertilization, to harvest.
Of the Romanesco Cabbage (Brassica oleracea convar. botrytis var. botrytis) is also known under the names minaret or tower cabbage. This particularly beautiful type of cabbage got its name from the shape of its inflorescences, which are tower-like or Grow like minarets. While it is often claimed that this type of cabbage is a combination cauliflower and broccoli is. But the fact is that Romanesco is a pure cauliflower variety.
Romanesco cabbage has a very intense aroma compared to most other types of cabbage, especially compared to the common cauliflower. The vitamin content is also a lot higher than in the more well-known cauliflower. The buds of both cauliflower and romanesco are consumed. In the latter, these form later compared to other conspecifics and are accordingly a bit smaller.
Varieties of Romanesco
You can buy seeds online for growing romanesco in your own garden. Ready-made plants are also available in selected gardening shops. Choose the right variety. We have put together some variety recommendations for you:
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Varieties for year-round cultivation:
- Celio F1: large-growing variety, year-round cultivation possible with good yields.
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Varieties for growing in late summer and autumn:
- Veronica F1: evenly beautiful buds, high resistance to powdery mildew.
- White gold: high-quality Romanesco buds with high yields.
- Navona F1: particularly beautiful and heavy buds.
- Gitano F1: compact variety with a high yield and great resistance to downy mildew.
Growing Romanesco - this is how it works step by step: We will take you through the gardening year with brief instructions
- You can start sowing at the end of February. A wind-protected cold frame (fleece cover for frosty nights) or a sunny window sill is suitable. No direct sowing is advisable until April. A temperature of around 12 ° C is recommended for good germination. The first successes will be noticeable after just a week. When germinating on the windowsill, after approx. Prick out the young plants for 3 weeks and transfer them to suitable pots (P9). Here they have enough space to grow well.
- In April, the bed must be prepared for planting out. This is very important, because the Romanesco not only needs a sunny place, but also a nutrient-rich soil. Fresh compost or a primarily organic bio-fertilizer like our Plantura Organic tomato fertilizer with long-term effects, the soil conditions can significantly improve.
- During April, the cabbage cuttings are planted in the garden. The Romanesco needs about an area of 50 × 50 cm per plant (smaller varieties are also satisfied with less).
- During growth, you can also provide the plants with a nitrogenous fertilizer every 2 weeks. However, you should stop four weeks before the harvest, otherwise the taste will be lost!
- During dry summer days, the pretty Romanesco needs more water. Regular weeding and loosening of the surrounding soil will thank you the Romanesco with a higher yield and even more aroma.
- Depending on the variety, you have to check the inflorescences at least every other day at harvest time. Before the cabbages begin to loosen, it's time to harvest. As a rule, most Romanesco varieties are harvested before the outer, enveloping leaves completely reveal the green and delicious inflorescence. For harvesting, the Romanesco cabbage head is cut off and the remaining parts of the plant can be disposed of on the compost heap.
The variety of cabbage types is great - we will present you the most important ones Types and varieties of cabbage in our overview.
