A leafy green vegetable known as Rapini, Brassica rapa ruvo or “Broccoli Raab”, its easy to grow from seed, nutritious and can be sown sequentially
It is best known for its use in Orecchiette con le Cime di Rapa a classic Italian dish from Puglia.
This is an heirloom vegetable, it grows in the cooler months and the leaves and the small flower shoots are used as a cooked green vegetable
How to Grow
Easy to grow from seed, which in can be planted tear found in temperate zones, in spring and late summer in colder zones such as USDA zones 6 through 4 and warmer zones.
So avoid the hot summers and cold winters.
- Choose a humus rich soil with some added cow manure.
- Seeds are sown at around .5cm deep and around 3cm apart. Rows should be around 25cm apart.
- Thin the seedlings out to 10 cm once the seeds germinate.
- Sow sequentially 2 – 3 week apart for continuous supply.
- Keep the plants moist, mulch around them to suppress weeds and use an organic liquid fertiliser every 3 weeks to promote strong growth.
- From sowing seed to harvest is around 2 months.
Harvesting Broccoli Raab
- You can harvest the heads when young, in fact as soon as they start to form, around 4 inches tall simply break them off. They will reshoot with more smaller heads.
- You can also harvest the whole plant, strip of the leaves and the heads and use them the dish we mentioned at the start, Orecchiette con le Cime di Rapa.