While picking the spears I was very conscious that not only do different varieties of PSB mature at different times, but they also produce spears of very different colours. "Rudolph" is very blue:
"Rudolph"
At the other end of the scale is "Early Purple Sprouting", which as almost red:
"Early Purple Sprouting"
And "Red Spear" is somewhere in the middle:
"Red Spear"
To be honest, I don't think the different varieties have noticeably different flavours though. To me they all seem equally good! In the past I have grown White Sprouting Broccoli ("White Eye") and I found it to be a lot stronger in flavor than its purple cousins - it had a very "brassica-ey" taste, if you know what I mean, more along the lines of Brussels Sprouts, and I know that doesn't appeal to everyone.
"White Eye" - photo from 2011
I'm hoping that with my 3 plants being of 3 different varieties I will be able to pick batches of spears for much longer than would be the case if they were all of the same type. With a bit of luck my harvest period will last until about the end of April, or possibly later, by which time I'll need to start thinking about sowing next year's crop!
