Fothergill's RHS Calabrese Marathon F1 Seeds

Details:

• Botanical Name: Brassica oleracea var. italica 'Marathon F1', a highly refined, premium hybrid cultivar within the Brassica family.
• Plant Class: Hardy Annual, possessing superior hybrid vigour that ensures rapid, uniform growth and excellent seedling establishment.
• Dense blue-green Heads: Produces large, tightly packed dome heads with a fine bead structure and a rich, traditional flavour that far surpasses supermarket alternatives.
• Extended Harvesting Window: Engineered for an exceptionally long cutting season, holding its firm quality well in the field before flowering to provide a steady supply of fresh greens.
• Robust Disease Resistance: Bred with advanced modern genetics to feature excellent natural tolerance against common brassica diseases, ensuring the plants remain healthy, productive, and resilient.
• All-Soil Adaptability: Remarkably versatile and reliable, this hard-wearing variety possesses the rare ability to thrive and crop successfully across almost all soil types.
• Nutritional Benefits: A highly rewarding, health-boosting addition to your homegrown dinner plate, serving as an excellent source of dietary fibre, Vitamin C, and antioxidants.

Care Instructions:

• Sowing Position: For a consistent, staggered summer and autumn harvest, sow seeds thinly indoors in module trays from March to April, or sow directly outdoors into a finely raked seedbed from April to June. Sow seeds at a depth of 1.5cm in a position with full sun.
• Planting Out and Spacing: Transplant young seedlings to their final outdoor positions from May to July once they have developed 4 to 5 true leaves. Space individual plants 45cm apart, allowing 45cm between rows, and firm the surrounding earth down thoroughly to support the heavy, upright plant framework.
• Moisture and Soil Maintenance: Keep the soil consistently moist, particularly during dry summer spells, as regular watering encourages continuous side-shoot production after the main head is cut and prevents the crop from bolting prematurely.
• Harvesting Technique: Cut the primary central head first when it is large, firm, and before the individual flower buds begin to open. This stimulates the plant to produce a heavy secondary flush of succulent, bite-sized side spears for weeks to come.