Starting seed for broccoli caulieflower and kale

Broccoli START INDOORS6 weeks before last frost

On Feb 21, two days after the new moon I started seed for (Calabrese green sprouting) broccoli. An Italian heirloom brought to America in the 1880s; 5”-8” heads and many side shoots. Harvest 60-90 days after transplant

On Feb 23, started seed for Broccoli, DeCicco
(Brassica oleracea) Italian heirloom introduced to U.S. gardeners in 1890. Compact 2-3' plants produce a 4" central head. After the central head is cut, many side shoots will form. Very early, great for freezing. 48-85 days from transplant. Great as both a spring and fall crop.

Germination temperature: 45 F to 85 F - Should germinate  in 3-10 days Germination temperature: 45 F to 85 F - Will germinate at soil temperatures as low as 40 F

Days to emergence: 4 to 7

Seed can be saved 3 years.

Feb 21  seeds planted for VatesBlue curled kale (Brassica oleracea ?)
Compact plants yield tender, blue-green, crinkled leaves that are quite delicious, very cold hardy, and rich in vitamin A. Days till harvest 60 +Zesty flavor is improved by light frost
Feb 21, seed started for Rainbow Chard 
Open-Pollinated shades of red, purple, pink, orange, yellow and white. Rainbow chard was sold by Thompson and Moran Seed co. in the early 1970s, but disappeared in the U. S. by the early 1980s. It was later discovered growing in Australia and introduced back to the market. 35 days to baby harvest and 55 days to mature harvest. Start planting about 2 to 3 weeks before last expected frost. Sow seeds ½ to 1 inch deep, 2 to 6 inches apart, in rows 18 to 24 apart. Like beets, chard “seeds” produce more than one plant, and so will require thinning. Thin to 6" to 12" spacings.

If you plan to harvest whole plants, make succession plantings through late summer. 
SAVING SEEDS Harvest seed stalks as they dry and thresh with a flail or by stomping. After threshed use a ½" and ¼" screen to help with cleaning. Chard seed remains viable for 4-6 years under cool and dry storage conditions.

 Feb 23 started  Snowball Cauliflower 
To ensure plump heads, time indoor sowing so that plants are no more than 5 weeks old at transplant time. Sow outdoors when soil temperatures are at least 60F. Germination: 6-14 Days Height At Maturity: 20"-26"Days To Maturity: 52-70 Days
Feb 23 Cabbage (Early golden acre) 

Golden Acre is an excellent early summer variety ball head cabbage. With small to medium-sized green, round solid heads on compact plants with few outer leaves.
Ideal for confined areas, it can be grown at 30cm spacings and give excellent small heads of first rate quality and flavor.
The heads are tightly folded, solid, 12 to 18cm (5 to 7 in) in diameter, round, grey-green in color and weigh three to five pounds. Matures in 64 days. It is not a long standing variety but is Yellows resistant

Golden Acre is an old heirloom variety, earliest references are in 1927 seed catalogs where they say…
“A first early type This Danish variety is highly praised by all who have grown it.”
By 1950 it was called... “The most popular variety for home and garden planting.”
Germination 10-21 days.   
 Dependable yields of good quality 2-4lb. round heads. Nice compact plant with a good, mellow cabbage taste. Average: 65 days