Have you seen this, very interesting. Found this on http://greenthumbs.tribe.net/thread/b19558de-275c-4ac9-aa39-dc9d12b91872 'What is it: Cima di rapa (aka broccoli raab or broccoli rabe or rape by Americans) literally means turnip top and that what it is-a turnip green. it is not related in the slightest to broccoli (which in Italian is called cavolo ___, e.g. cavolo broccolo for true broccoli, cavolfiore for cauliflower, cavolo verza for savoy cabbage, cavolo laciniato for tuscan kale) Here in the United States it is often referred to as broccoli rabe. The rabe is obviously a corruption of rapa; the broccoli probably comes from the little 'tops' you find on most varieties of cima di rapa that somewhat resemble a broccoli head. There are ten or so varieties of cima di rapa in Italy. Franchi Sementi carries Quarantina (40 day), Sessantina (60 day), Novantina(90 day, centoventina (120 day) & maceratese. All but the maceratese have the little 'tops' that most people associate with cima di rapa. Maceratese has no tops. In addition to those that Franchi Sementi carries there is a foglia d'olivio (olive leaf). You may also see some called riccia san marzano (sometimes these are called cima grosso or large top) and they tend to have more in the way of tops which are a bit bent over or curled, hence the name, riccia (curly). They come in the 40, 60, 90 & 120 day versions. So what is the difference. Size mostly; the longer they take to mature, the larger the plant. The 40 day one is 10-12 inches high; the 90 day one will get to 16-17 inches with some pretty huge leaves and stalks. None of the Italian varieties have as many tops as the Andy Boy Brococli Rabe you find in the supermarkets; that is a variety developed by the grower and I do not believe the seed is available for sale. 'How to grow cima di rapa (broccoli rabe). First, forget the folk wisdom that these need to be grown in cool weather, otherwise they will go to seed [send up the dreaded yellow flowers]. That is not so. You can grow them throughout the growing season. On the other hand, they will bolt almost as quickly in the spring as they do in the summer. Another piece of folk wisdom is that their names describe the number of days until maturity. No so. I can guarantee that if you plant quarantina & wait forty days, by the 40th day, you will have a lovely patch of yellow flowers. In fact, quarantina generally takes about 32 days; sessantina about 40-45 days; novantina & foglia d'olivio about 50-55 days. In order to grow cima di rapa successfully, you need to follow two simple rules. First, give them plenty of space. The seeds are tiny and it is hard to drop one seed. People almost always sow them too thickly. What I do is plant in a row and space rows ten inches or so for the 40 day, 12 inches for the others. I try try to drop one seed per inch; of course I never do. No matter. The cima di rapa germinates in a few days and in 10 days or so, it will be two or three inches high. Thin it to 4' for the 40 day & 6' for all the rest. Use the thinnings in salad. Secondly, as soon as the plant makes a 'top', cut it. Dont even wait a day. Cut it, wash it, put it in a plastic bag and store it in the crisper of your refridgerator. If you leave it out in the garden, it will bolt within two days; if you cut it & put it in the crisper, it will store ten days or more. Forget about multiple cuts also. It will not grow back or if it does, there is not much in the quality department. The trick is to succession plant it; replant every week or so if you are really into cima di rapa. The alternative is to plant a couple of different varieties.'' Here is a link that might be useful: Grow Italian

thanks! it does look similar to that minus that the stems are not that thick. (as are the ones in the supermarket.) When I was out there watering, I think maybe they are closer to 8-9 inches tall, not 6. It almost looks like a baby version of what you posted. thinner stalks, smaller heads. Should I be worried though that it will flower? The heads seem to just have come out because today is the 1st day I noticed them. where do i cut it? all the way near the ground or do i leave some stalks? Also- I just planted it 28 days ago thinking it will be ready for fall (sept) but it sprouted/grew so quickly...

Emily: There is nothing special about the seed I buy. Burpee, Hart, NK. These are the seeds that my local merchants carry so these are what I get. My soil is very rich because every Fall I bury tons of leaves in it, and I guess I get paid off with big plants. Raab is a temperamental plant. Early this Spring I planted Broccoli and Raab side-by-side, started indoors at the same time. Our Spring was cold. The Raab went right to seed, the Broccoli did fine. These are the imponderables that I (we) can never figure out. My strategy out of these situations is to always have backup plants, started weeks apart, to step in in case of trouble. Still....things happen. Steve: Thanks for the tips. Frank

Azura, last year was my first real veggie garden, and I learned a lot. There were successes and failures, but I enjoyed it so much. Skybird is right about you wanting to make it bigger next year. I created a separate bed for the herbs this year, just so I could plant more veggies in veggie garden. So far, I planted onion sets and peas (twice). I also have five kinds of lettuce, and broccoli sprouts that were wintersown, that I might plant out as soon as the crazy winds die down. Plus there are tomatoes and peppers in my kitchen windowsill, and tomatoes that were wintersown but haven't germinated yet. I'm also direct sowing carrots maybe this week, but the cucumbers, canteloupes, and beans won't get planted for another month or so. My goal is for as much variety as possible, even if it means just one or two plants of each - 5 kinds of beans, 4 kinds of canteloupe, 5 kinds of carrots, 4 kinds of cukes, 7 kinds of peppers, and as many different tomatoes as I can cram into the space that's left, and the Earthbox I just bought. I'd rather have too many plants and have to give some away, than to realize I have empty space in the garden, and not enough time to start something else before the end of the season. The bed and soil look great, and I wish you a bountiful harvest. Bonnie