Replacing Packman Broccoli

[GoDawgs]

A little while ago @AZGardener mentioned that Castle Dome F1 is the grower's updated version of my long time performer Packman F1 broccoli so I'm trying it this spring it. This morning I did one more internet search for Packman and found some on Amazon but I'm not sure I trust the seed after finding a complaint from someone who grew it and said it definitely wasn't Packman.

Anderson's Seed and Garden is advertising Imperial broccoli, calling it "formerly Packman".

Jung has replaced Packman with Castle Dome as the substitute and Reimer has replaced it with Pack-Pro broccoli.

Haven't found any information about why it was replaced after reading so many glowing reports about early, heat tolerant, nice tight large headed, many side shoots Packman.

So, besides trying Castle Dome this spring I will also grow some Blue Wind. This is another F1 one you can't find much anymore. It was pretty much the equal of Packman in all aspects when I ran a side-by-side trial one year. I have 30 Blue Wind seeds left in my seed "vault" so I'll be ok for a few more years. Meanwhile I'm also going to give new-to-me Rasmus a shot this fall.

[MissS]

Good topic. While I still have some Packman seeds, I did notice that my favorite broccoli was no longer available. So given that, I'm watching this thread to see what to grow next.

[GoDawgs]

@MissS , what was your favorite broccoli? I probably read it somewhere already but can't remember.

[karstopography]

https://varietytrials.eorganic.info/sit ... -FINAL.pdf

@GoDawgs check out the link. Trial of several broccoli types including Packman in eastern North Carolina and the Piedmont. You really aren’t far from there.

I grew Ironman this season. Really fantastic flavor and tight heads. I haven’t grown Packman, but Ironman beat Packman in the trial. (Sounds like a Marvel movie)

[GoDawgs]

@karstopography, thanks for that link. Ironman and Imperial are pretty long finishes and I might try one for the fall. I need that shorter finish time for spring.

Those trials are not close to here. The Piedmont area of NC has a milder climate than I have. I did check out their Western NC trials. The Waynesville station is up in the NC mountains, a lot different climate than here. We're on the Fall Line, an area where the flat land of eastern and southern Georgia start rising to transition to the Appalachians. The line runs southwest through Georgia from Columbia SC down through Columbus GA (near the AL border). It really affects the weather. Sometimes spring is a lot milder and sometimes a lot colder.

[MissS]

@MissS , what was your favorite broccoli? I probably read it somewhere already but can't remember.

Pacman has always been my favorite. It's a nice head and makes plenty of side shoots to further the crop.

[GoDawgs]

This spring I planted my last four Packmans, twelve Packman F2s, four Blue Wind and eight Castle Domes. The Pacs and Blue Wind are done, there are two more Castle Domes left and some of the second six Pac F2s left. The Blue Winds got cut and tossed out as the heads looked really strange. The Pacman did their usual good job and are putting out side shoots.

The Castle Domes are more of what I call a fountain shape; very upright spears and heads are not as round as the nice domes of Packman. The CD's don't seem to be putting out many sideshoots. That's a disappointment but then side shoot production wasn't mentioned in the list of attributes. I don't call that lack an "improvement".

The Packman F2s are a mix. Some are a bit more "domey" and some are a bit "fountainy" but they sure are putting out side shoots. Yay! The F2 seed these were grown from was collected May or June '23 from plants set out 2/21/23. These plants were transplanted out March 8th this spring and have been through several mini-winters and mini-springs since then but I don't know if it's enough to let a few go to seed. I have one head that's getting a lot bigger and looks like it might want to flower. We'll see.

I've begun fall planning and will do Castle Dome again to test its advertised cold tolerance. Also more F2 Pacs, a few Goliaths and some new-to-me Rasmus. It's a 65-70 dtm and the why-buy description says "Stalks are short and thick with a nice, high dome; 4-7" heads. Good side shoots. Great for fall." So we'll see how cold tolerant it is since it's a later finisher.

To me all broccoli seems to taste the same so no comparisons there.

[Whwoz]

Sounds to me that you have what you want in the Packman F2s. Just a matter of selecting the plant form you like most, marking the plant(s) and going from there.

If that Packman is anything like the broccoli that we have grown in the past cutting the heads and some of the side shoots should still leave you plenty of side shoots for allowing to go to seed later in the season. Indeed pickling the early side shoots may help in selecting plants that keep producing side shoots for longer. I can recall some that we have grown in the years long gone being picked for months over winter and still producing a mass of flowers in spring.