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Learning how to grow broccoli is probably one of the easiest cool-weather vegetable crops to grow. And if done properly, you can get two main harvests a season in addition to multiple mini-harvests too.
We’ll talk about not only how to grow broccoli but how and when to harvest broccoli, as well as its health benefits and a whole lot more!
How To Grow Broccoli-Everything You Need To Know
Health Benefits of Broccoli
Before we get into growing broccoli, you’ll definitely find this very helpful.
Broccoli is grown for its compact flower head. It’s part of the Brassicas family, and it’s highly nutritious and contains sulforaphane, a cancer-fighting antioxidant.
But it’s an excellent source of fiber, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, iron, magnesium, folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamins C, A, E, and B6.
It promotes heart health, eye health, and more. So it’s a really great vegetable to grow in your homestead or backyard garden.
Common Varieties of Broccoli
There are three commonly grown varieties of broccoli:
Calabrese Broccoli
Often referred to as simple broccoli. Probably the most common variety grown in North America and other similar climates. It’s known for its large heads and thick stalks.
Sprouting Broccoli
This variety of broccoli has smaller heads on thinner stems or stalks, but still very tasty.
Purple Cauliflower
This head is shaped much like cauliflower and may or may not be purple. But the flowers in the head do have a light purple cast to them.
But of course, there are some really common cultivars, too: Such as the Bravo, Green Duke, Packman, Premium Crop, Purple Sprouting, and Waltham 29.
Curious about what the difference between varieties and cultivars is? Mainly the ability to set “true seed.”
Varieties are normally heirloom seeds, and when the plant is left and allowed to go to seed, the seed can be harvested, dried, and then planted to grow more broccoli.
A cultivar, on the other hand, is a seed that has been produced and is held by horticulturists that will not produce a seed that will grow more broccoli. They will normally not set a true seed.
But they have been altered to make growing easier. So you have to decide what you prefer. I use a mix of both.
Is Broccoli Easy to Grow?
Even if you are a beginning gardener, learning how to grow broccoli is one of the easiest cool-season crops to grow.
Growing broccoli requires little maintenance throughout the growth cycle. Making it easy to grow.
If you live in an area with a short growing season, you will most likely be better off starting broccoli seeds indoors and then transplanting the seedlings out in the home garden when they are 4-6 inches tall or have 3-4 sets of “true leaves.”
Of course, starting your own seeds indoors is your choice. If you choose not to, you can purchase seedlings (baby plants) from a local nursery or garden center.
TIP: Not only can broccoli be grown in the spring, but broccoli can also be grown in the fall with some simple planning; here’s how.
RELATED: Even if you’ve never gardened before, this Vegetable Gardening for Beginners Ultimate Guide is for you! Learn everything you need to know from over 60 resources, all in one place, to be a successful gardener, including improving soil, cover crops, warm and cool season crops, organic amendments, fertilizing, watering, and so much more.
How to Start Broccoli From Seeds
Broccoli seeds are normally viable (meaning how long they will store and still germinate) for approximately 3 years if stored properly.
If you choose to plant seeds directly into healthy garden soil, they can be planted 6 inches apart and then thinned to 24 inches apart when they are about 4-6 inches tall. Be sure to read your seed packet to get the right spacing.
RELATED: Garden Mapping: Planning Your Best Vegetable Garden
Broccoli is very happy in a soil pH of 6.5-7.5. This information can be found on your seed packet too.
To start seeds indoors, broccoli seeds should be planted 1/4 inch deep into the soil using sturdy seed starting trays and an organic seed starter mix 4-6 weeks prior to the last frost.
They will germinate best in soil temperatures of 68°- 85° and will need to be kept under grow lights for 14-16 hours a day. Learn more about starting seeds indoors here.
RELATED: Take the guesswork out! Use the easy formula worksheets in The Canning Garden Workbook (printable) to figure out how much to plant, for canning, to feed your family for a full year!
How To Grow Broccoli in Containers or Pots
The best way to grow a large broccoli crop is directly in the soil, but if you live in an apartment or condo, etc., this may not be possible. So wonderfully, broccoli can be grown in containers!
The size of the container will depend on how many plants you wish to grow. One plant can thrive in a 5-gallon planter, whereas 3 plants will need a larger container like a 15-gallon planter.
On average, a single broccoli plant needs about 5 gallons of healthy garden soil to grow.
When to Plant Broccoli for Best Results
Broccoli is a cool-season vegetable which means it will do better in cooler temperatures. Growing broccoli in the summer will be difficult, depending on the variety, if temperatures get much above 70° or 21°C.
If you are planting transplants, they should be set out as soon as the soil is able to be tended. Here in Tennessee, late March to early April. This seed planting schedule from Seeds for Generations is helpful in finding out what month you should plant, depending on your area’s frost dates.
Seedlings or transplants should be fertilized with a side dress of composted manure and mulched with straw or other organic mulch. This helps to hold in moisture.
They will need a sunny location where they will get 6-10 hours of sun a day and 1 inch to 1.5 inches of water a week.
Pests and Diseases
Broccoli, along with cabbage and other vegetables in the brassica family, does have pests and diseases.
Cabbage Worms
These start out as small, soft-bodied worms and then grow into white moths. But leaving the larva on plants can wreak havoc. Here is how to naturally control the cabbage worm.
Flea Beetles
These are tiny black insects with large back legs. They get their name from the ability to jump like a flea. Laying eggs near the bottom of a seedling, the beetles will feed off of the leaves.
Flea beetles multiply quickly and can destroy small seedlings.
Aphids
These are tiny, white, fuzzy insects. Some call them white flies. You’ll think of a snowflake when you see them.
Aphids suck the sap out of young broccoli plants. They are normally found on the underside of leaves and will cause the plant to wrinkle up and turn yellow or brown and die.
Powdery Mildew
This is a fungus disease that breeds on the leaves. Its symptoms are small white patches on the leaves that spread and will cause the leaves to defoliate prematurely.
How to Organically Protect Broccoli From Pests
Floating Row Covers
Floating row covers are a mesh that is draped over the plants and closed on the ends to keep pests out. It will help to prevent cabbage moths from getting in to lay eggs and also prevent the flea beetle and root maggots.
Root Collars
Also, an easy way to protect the seedling stem from root flies is to wrap them with a root collar to help protect them.
How To Fertilize Broccoli For Best Growth
To help homegrown broccoli plants to produce well side-dress at 2-3 week intervals with a side dressing of composted manure. The first fertilizing is when you plant the seedling.
If composted manure is not available, fish emulsion will work well, but don’t overdo the nitrogen, as this will cause lots of leaves and small heads. Follow the instructions on the bottle.
How Long Does It Take Broccoli To Grow?
This answer really depends on the variety you choose as well as its growing conditions. And since broccoli is a cool season crop, you can grow it in both the early spring and fall.
For the most common varieties: Bravo, Green Compact, Green Duke, Packman, Purple Sprouting, and Waltham 29 – the spring grow time is an average of 50-70 days, and fall is 65-90 days.
How Do I Know When To Harvest Broccoli?
The main center head should be cut when the buds are tight. You will have smaller secondary heads that will develop, and these should be harvested when tight as well.
If they are overly mature, the buds will begin to become loose, and the flowers will begin to open.
You will want to harvest your broccoli before it bolts (grows a long stem up the center and flowers) because it will be tastier. Once it bolts, it does tend to become bitter.
How Many Heads Of Broccoli Do You Get From One Plant?
Growing broccoli plants will have 1 “main” center flower head, but most broccoli varieties will develop side shoots that will produce smaller heads once the main head has been harvested.
These can be harvested just as long as temperatures permit.
Best Way To Preserve Broccoli
Broccoli is not only easy to grow, but it is easy to preserve. Freezing broccoli is the best way to preserve it. The flavor is fresh anytime you open a bag. Learning how to freeze broccoli is easy too.
RELATED: Want to learn how to freeze all your harvest? Grab a copy of my Quick Start Guide to Freezing The Harvest.
And best of all, by preserving your own harvest, you can enjoy the flavor of fresh broccoli during the hot summer temperatures when growing it is not an option.
So, now that you have learned how to grow broccoli, will you be adding it to your home garden this year? Tell me all your plans by adding comments below.
More Gardening Tips
- Growing Cabbage
- How to Grow Carrots
- When to Plant Early Spring Vegetables
- How to Grow Onions from Sets
- 13 Fast-Growing Vegetables for a Productive Fall Garden | Quick Harvest Crops
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Dianne Hadorn is the owner of Hidden Springs Homestead nestled in the hills of East Tennessee. She is a Master Gardener and enjoys helping others learn how to grow and preserve their own food and sharing tips for living a more sustainable life.
Question: after the broccoli is done and been harvest! Do you pull the whole root out of the garden? Cut it back? We are new to the gardening world! Thanks
Hi Nicole,
Good question and the answer depends on what I have planted with it. Last year I had only broccoli in one of the smaller beds and when I harvested, I did pull them up. But this year, I had onions as a companion planted all around the broccoli, so when I harvested this year – I cut the stalk off to ground level and left it. Either was is fine. If it is left in the soil, the microbes and fungi feed off the roots and it decomposes adding organic amendments to the soil.
By the time the onions were ready to harvest, about 4-5 weeks later, the cuts were no no where to be found.