Kalettes / Flower Sprouts

11 years ago

I'm sure a lot of you have heard the recent hype, or seen the seeds in Johnny's catalog. What do you think? Willing to give them a try? After reading about them, I decided I did NOT want to grow them. 130 days for a yield of about 1/4 - 1/2 pound a plant seems like a waste of garden space. My partner however was interested in trying them - just for us. So I got a small packet of the earliest variety. We will see how it goes.

Featured Answer

ekgrows
Original Author

10 years ago

Finally got around to totaling produce totals. We grew 24 plants, and had a yield of just over 18 pounds. We sold them for $10-12 / a pound - depending on the market. So figure they brought us a total of ~ $200. Worth it - not really. But our customers loved them. I should also mention that the plants still had a lot of small sprouts on them when we pulled them in late October, so we probably could have harvested a few more pounds had they been able to stay in the ground longer. Unfortunately, we needed that space to get our garlic in the ground. If we do grow them again next year, I will make sure to plant them in a plot they can stay in longer.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

little_minnie
11 years ago
I think they are a waste of time.
smatthew_gw
11 years ago
They certainly are nice looking. Let us know how it goes and what you end up charging for them.
Related Professionals
Worcester Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Lewiston Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Williamsport Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Bainbridge Landscape Contractors · Macon Landscape Contractors · Bloomington Landscape Contractors · Rocky Mount Landscape Contractors · Florence Landscape Contractors · Middletown Landscape Contractors · Rutland Landscape Contractors · Ontario Landscape Contractors · Montréal Landscape Contractors · Great Bend Architects & Building Designers · Myrtle Beach Architects & Building Designers · Greenfield Architects & Building Designers
derock_gw
11 years ago
I have to admit I was intrigued, but after seeing the price for seeds, the yield, and the time to harvest we are taking a pass this year.
ekgrows
Original Author
11 years ago
We probably should have taken a pass! We would have to sell them for an insane amount of money to have a chance of making any....

I was looking thru the gardens alive catalog the other day and saw they offer "petit posy" flower sprouts. Not as expensive, and THEY SAY these will be ready in about 50 days. I don't see how that is possible.

Here is a link that might be useful: petit posy flower sprouts
ekgrows
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago

Picked some today. There seems to be no rhyme or reason with their setting pattern - There will be large ones right next to small ones, scattered along the stalk. They are cool looking, and we both thought they tasted just like kale. Will take them to market for the first time tomorrow, so hopefully they are received well.
sandy0225
11 years ago
those look nice. I had trouble with my brussels sprouts when I planted the old fashioned "long island improved" and they made loose heads that looked just like those flower sprouts. so I called them brussels flowers and cut them off the stalks and sold them loose by the pound and they were a big hit at market. I tried to grow them again the next year and they headed up just fine, so I dont know what happened that one year.
Barrie, (Central PA, zone 6a)
10 years ago
I grew the trial combination from Johnny's this year and probably would not do again. I harvested a few bunches for market sales but yield was poor compared to other standard kale varieties and Beira kale, one of my newfound favorites. I would definitely start seed early indoors and transplant if you want to try the pricey kalettes.