Citation Broccoli
Brassica oleracea
Citation is an heirloom broccoli that you won't find in any seed catalog! I received seed of this broccoli from a friend on Molokai about 25 years ago. She had been growing it and improving the seed for some time. It has a larger center head with many smaller side heads, and has been aclimatized to Hawaii for a long time. My friend lost the seed in the early 2000s and I thought I had also! Until one day I was cleaning out my seed fridge and I found seed saved from 2005! I was very happy and decided to plant out the seed and see if any were still viable. Open pollinated broccoli varieties have almost disappeared from seed catalogs in the US. Out of all the seed I planted there were 12 healthy plants that I saved seed from. I will conintue to grow and save this seed, selecting for traits I like such as large center head, shorter and fuller with lots of side shoots that keep going for longer harvests. Remember you can eat the leaf of broccoli, which are a very nutritions leafy green and are delicious in soups and stews!
Cultivation:
Sow seed 1/2 " deep in cells or pots. Germination takes place in 7-10 days. Set out in full sun when plants have 2 sets of true leaves. Ready to eat in 45-60 days.
Seeds grown in Mauka Kona, Big Island
30 seeds per packet