How to Grow Broccoli: Your Guide to Your Best Harvest Yet
Hey there, home gardener! Ready to grow your own broccoli and enjoy dark green, vitamin C-packed broccoli heads fresh from your home garden? As a cool-season crop, broccoli plants thrive in cooler temperatures, making them ideal for spring plantings or a fall harvest. They really don’t like the heat of the summer. Planting them too late or at the wrong time will cause them to bolt, or flower. Once they bolt they become bitter and not the best tasting. So the have the best tasting broccoli harvest, you need to know when is the right time to plant.
Whether you’re sowing broccoli seeds for the first time or transplanting broccoli into garden beds, this blog post is bursting with lots of tips to help you cultivate varieties of broccoli like Chinese broccoli, purple broccoli, or broccoli raab. Let’s dive into how to grow broccoli and make your vegetable garden a success!
This post is all about how to grow broccoli.
[RELATED POST: Easy Tips on How to Grow Chinese Broccoli from Seed]
Table of Contents
Why Grow Broccoli? A Nutritious Cool Season Vegetable
Broccoli is a nutrient powerhouse, offering edible flowers and flower buds that make a delicious side dish. The flowers actually have a sweet, peppery taste to them. (So if they happen to bolt, you can still get use out of them!) This cool season vegetable doesn’t need a lot of space—just 18 to 24 inches to yield plenty of broccoli heads and smaller side shoots. Be sure to also have room in between rows! They’ll need at least 24 to 36 inches in between rows. From the tight head of Calabrese to the vibrant purple varieties or tender baby broccoli, broccoli varieties add flavor and color to your table.
Later in this post, we’ll discuss companion planting too. It’s important to know which veggies are friends with broccoli and which are foes, or rather hinder having a successful crop.
When to Plant Broccoli: Best Times for Success
The best times to sow broccoli seeds depend on your climate zone. For an early spring crop, start seeds indoors in late winter, 6-8 weeks before the last frost, using grow lights for best growth. Transplant broccoli into garden beds in early spring when young plants have 4-6 true leaves. For a fall crop, sow seeds in late summer for a late fall or early fall harvest, as broccoli loves cool weather and can tolerate a light frost.
Pro Tip: Thin seedlings to 18 inches apart to give each plant room to form a large head. For a long season, stagger spring plantings and fall crops to enjoy your own broccoli all year!
[RELATED POST: A Quick Guide to Plant Hardiness Zones Definition]
Choosing the Right Spot: Full Sun and Fertile Soil
Broccoli is one of many plants that is a heavy feeder – meaning they take up LOTS of nutrients from the soil to produce a nice, healthy crop. Like many plants, it needs full sun and well-draining soil packed with plenty of organic matter. Prepare garden beds with fertile soil, adding blood meal or performance organics for a nutrient boost. Maintain consistent soil moisture to avoid water stress, as soggy conditions can lead to downy mildew or black rot. If your soil is heavy, amend it with compost to ensure well-drained soil that supports the entire plant, from the root system to the central head.
For small spaces, grow broccoli in raised beds or containers with at least 12 inches of soil depth. Check out methods like square foot gardening, which is a great method to follow in smaller gardens.
How to Grow Broccoli: Step-by-Step
Ready to plant? Here’s the best way to grow broccoli for optimal results:
- Sow Seeds or Transplant: Start broccoli seeds indoors or direct sow in garden beds at the correct time. Harden off young plants before transplanting to avoid shock.
- Space Properly: Plant broccoli 18-24 inches apart in rows to allow room for the main head and smaller heads to develop.
- Water Consistently: Keep moist soil without waterlogging. An inch of water weekly prevents water stress and supports tight head formation.
- Protect from Pests: Use a floating row cover to shield young plants from cabbage worms, cabbage loopers, and flea beetles. Apply bacillus thuringiensis or insecticidal soap for organic pest control.
- Fertilize: Feed with a nitrogen-rich organic fertilizer like blood meal mid-season to promote dark green growth and best growth.
Companion Planting with Broccoli
My favorite way to interplant or companion plant with any of my veggies and fruits are with herbs. There are huge benefits to companion planting with herbs, like deterring pests without having to do much else. I actually have a whole blog post about companion planting with herbs and all kinds of vegetables and fruits. It’ll make your life so much easier so definitely check it out.
Broccoli can be plagued with cabbage loopers, cabbage worms, cutworms, and aphids. I’ve found broccoli to be extremely susceptible to pests. So plant herbs like basil, chives, dill, marjoram, mint, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and thyme.
Plant flowers like marigold, nasturtium, and chamomile. Other companion vegetables are beets, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, onions, radishes, shallots, and Swiss chard.
[RELATED POST: Hack: How to Keep Pests out of the Garden Naturally with Herb Companion Planting]
Caring for Broccoli Plants
So once your broccoli plants are growing, there’s some general care that needs to happen, and it’s honestly not a lot of work… As long as everything’s set up right initially.
- Pest Control: Watch for insect pests like cabbage worms and flea beetles. Hand-pick them or use row covers to protect the whole plant. Beneficial insects like ladybugs can help naturally. To attract beneficial insects, plant flowers that attract them. This is also so important for pollination and good crops.
- Disease Prevention: Practice crop rotation to avoid clubroot disease and black rot. Well-draining soil and good air circulation prevent downy mildew.
- Harvesting: Use a sharp knife to cut the central head when it’s tight and dark green, before yellow flowers appear. Leave the plant to produce smaller side shoots for extended harvests.
- Mulching: Apply mulch to maintain soil moisture and keep roots cool, especially in warm weather.
- Cover your plants: Cover your plants with mesh netting to deter pests. Broccoli doesn’t need to be pollinated in order to produce the florets. However, if you plant on seed saving, then this may not be an option for you. So the plant can produce seeds, it’ll need to be pollinated. By deterring pests with the netting, you’ll be deterring pollinators too.
Harvesting Broccoli: Timing for Perfect Heads
It’s harvesting time! You’ve waited this long to harvest your crop. Congratulations!
Harvest broccoli heads when they’re firm and tight, typically 60-100 days after planting, depending on the type of broccoli. Cut the main head just below the flower buds with a sharp knife, leaving 4-6 inches of stem. After harvesting the central head, smaller side shoots will form, providing a continuous fall harvest or late summer yield. For broccoli raab or baby broccoli, harvest young leaves and tender stems for a quick side dish.
Store broccoli heads in the fridge for up to two weeks, or blanch and freeze for year-round use. Don’t discard the leaf type—broccoli leaves are edible and great in stir-fries!
Broccoli Varieties to Try
With so many varieties of broccoli, there’s something for every garden:
- Calabrese: Classic green broccoli with a large head.
- Purple Broccoli: Stunning purple heads that turn green when cooked.
- Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan): Tender stems and leaves with a mild flavor.
- Broccoli Raab: Quick-growing with small heads and edible flowers.
- Baby Broccoli: Sweet and tender, ideal for small spaces.
Troubleshooting Common Problems
Broccoli is hardy but can face challenges. Here’s how to tackle common problems:
- Cabbage Worms and Loopers: Use bacillus thuringiensis or floating row covers to keep pests at bay.
- Flea Beetles: Tiny holes in leaves? Apply insecticidal soap and use row covers for young plants.
- Downy Mildew or Black Rot: Ensure well-drained soil and avoid overhead watering to prevent fungal diseases.
- Bolting: Hot weather or warm temperatures can cause yellow flowers to form early. Plant in cool weather or choose heat-tolerant broccoli varieties.
Broccoli in Warm or Cold Weather
Broccoli thrives in cooler temperatures but struggles in warm weather. In hot climates, opt for a fall crop to avoid bolting and ensure a tight head. In cold weather, broccoli can handle a light frost, making it perfect for late fall or the following spring. Use row covers to protect plants from the first fall frost or sudden cold snaps in your climate zone.
Why Broccoli Is a Homesteader’s Dream
Growing your own broccoli is rewarding and surprisingly easy with the right care. This cool-season crop is packed with vitamin C, fits in small garden beds, and produces smaller heads even after the main harvest. Whether you’re savoring purple varieties for their color, Chinese broccoli for stir-fries, or classic Calabrese for a hearty side dish, your home garden will thrive with this versatile vegetable.
So, grab your broccoli seeds, prep your fertile soil, and start sowing! Share your favorite broccoli varieties or pest-fighting tips in the comments. Let’s make this growing season a broccoli triumph with Cedar Homestead! 🌿🥦
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Easy Tips on How to Grow Chinese Broccoli from Seed
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