Transplanting Broccoli & Herb Box Maintenance

Village Farm Team,

We transplanted two new varieties of broccoli this week: Burgundy and Monflor. As the name implies, Burgundy is a sprouting broccoli with purple buds and purple-tinged stems. Since this variety is incredibly tender and sweet, the whole head can be eaten rather than separating out the florets from the stems. Monflor is a green variety often referred to as “one-cut broccoli”. This stems from the fact that it produces loose heads with florets that can be separated with one single cut at the base. We can’t wait to try out these new-to-us broccoli varieties!

Since we’re moving towards more consistent winter temperatures and the daylight hours are shorter, a lot of our perennials in our herb boxes are moving into a dormant state. When a plant is dormant, it means that it is in a state of temporary metabolic inactivity or minimal activity. At this point, the energy is stored in the roots until more favorable weather (i.e. spring) returns to begin initiating growth. We observed a lot of our perennials moving into dormancy so we took advantage of the opportunity to do a little maintenance and trim them back. They might look a little short and stubby after their trim but this will allow them to be able to store more energy for spring growth.

The time has come to bid farewell to our Cuckoo Maran rooster, “King Roo”. We’ll be relocating him this week to a more suitable home with a smaller flock of hens. Ideally, the ratio of roosters to hens is roughly one to ten. Since we have a sizable flock, we’ve been noticing some aggressive behavior from King Roo. After some contemplation and research we decided that a move to a smaller flock was best. Though we’ll miss his funny antics and beautiful plumage, we know he’ll enjoy his new home!