Plant, grow, and harvest broccoli with ease for tasty, nutritious results
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Planting
Broccoli should be planted in a site that gets full sun (6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day). Lack of sunlight may produce thin, leggy plants and subpar heads. Soil should be well-draining and fertile. Use raised beds if you can’t adjust sandy or clay soil. To increase fertility before you plant, work in 2 to 4 inches of rich compost (humus) or a thin layer of manure in early spring. The soil pH should ideally be slightly acidic, between 6.0 and 7.0.
When to Plant Broccoli
We recommend planting transplants (start plants) or seeding indoors
- For a spring crop, transplant 2 to 3 weeks before your last spring frost date, once soil temperatures reach 40°F (4°C), but warmer soil is preferred and will greatly speed up development. Consult our Planting Calendar to see recommended dates for your area.
- If you are starting seeds indoors, start 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date.
If you plant a fall crop, we would still recommend transplanting. Direct seeding in hot weather isn’t good for cole crops.
- Start seeds 6 to 8 weeks before the first fall frost date, and transplants go into the ground 4 to 6 weeks later.
How to Plant Broccoli
- Plant transplants that are 4 to 6 weeks old (and have 4 or 5 leaves) outdoors, 12 to 20 inches apart, in holes slightly deeper than their container depth.
- Space rows of broccoli 3 feet apart. (Closer spacing yields smaller main heads but more secondary heads.)
- Water well at the time of planting.
Video Demo of Sowing Broccoli
For those who wish to start sowing in pots, watch Ben in this video show you how it’s done! See the whole process from sowing to transplanting to broccoli care and harvesting.
Growing
- Plants thrive in temperatures between 65° and 70°F (18° and 21°C).
- Fertilize broccoli three weeks after transplanting seedlings into the garden. Use a low-nitrogen fertilizer, such as a 5-10-10 formula.
- Thin when young plants reach 2 to 3 inches tall. Plants should be between 12 and 20 inches apart.
- Provide consistent soil moisture with regular watering, especially in drought conditions. Water at least 1 to 1 1/2 inches per week.
- Do not get developing broccoli heads wet when watering, as it can encourage rot.
- Roots are very shallow, so try not to disturb the plants—suffocate weeds with mulch instead of weeding.
- Mulching around plants will also help to keep soil temperatures down.
- Use row covers to minimize pests.
- To promote the growth of a second head after the first has been harvested, maintain an active feeding and watering schedule.
Types
- ‘Calabrese’ is an heirloom broccoli (from Italy) with large heads and prolific side shoots that will mature for harvesting. Great for fall planting, too.
- ‘Flash’ is a fast-growing, heat-resistant hybrid with good side-shoot production once the central head is cut. Great for fall planting, too.
- ‘Green Goliath’ is heat-tolerant with giant heads and prolific side shoots.
- ‘Green Duke’ is heat tolerant and an early variety that’s especially good for Southern gardeners.
- ‘Green Magic’ is heat tolerant; freezes well.
- ‘Paragon’ has extra-long spears; excellent for freezing.
Harvesting
- Harvest broccoli in the morning, when the buds of the head are firm and tight, just before the heads flower.
- If you do see yellow petals, harvest immediately, as the quality will decrease rapidly.
- Cut heads from the plant, taking at least 6 inches of stem. Make a slanted cut on the stalk to allow water to slide away. (Water can pool and rot the center of a flat-cut stalk, ruining the secondary heads.)
- Most varieties have side-shoots that will continue to develop after the main head is harvested. You can harvest from one plant for many weeks, in some cases, from spring to fall, if your summer isn’t too hot.
- Learn more tips on harvesting broccoli.
How to Store Broccoli
- Store broccoli in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- If you wash before storing, make sure to dry it thoroughly.
- Broccoli can be blanched and frozen for up to one year. Learn how to freeze broccoli.
Cooking Notes
One ounce of broccoli has an equal amount of calcium as one ounce of milk. Learn more about the amazing health benefits of broccoli.
Catherine Boeckmann
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Hello! I planted a small garden in March ( i am in Austin Tx) with my kids and we planted broccoli seeds... they never formed crowns and the plants is beautiful.. about 2feet tall.. only leaves.. what do I do? do I need to start over. cut back the leaves or will it eventually do something?
Be sure that your broccoli is in full sunlight. Also, broccoli does best between temperatures of about 40 and 70 degrees F. Warmer temperatures may deter head formation; it might possibly pick up when the weather cools (although broccoli doesn't survive much below 25F). Otherwise, it could be that they got too much nitrogen, which deters flowering and head formation, but encourages leaf growth. As you wait to see if your broccoli perks up in cooler weather, you might also try a fall planting of broccoli. Some varieties that work nicely in Texas are 'Green Comet' and 'Bonanza.' Around Austin, it looks like for a spring planting, it might be best to plant transplants out in the garden in mid-February through early March, so that the plants don't mature during the heat of summer (which can make it bolt or have other troubles).
There is also a phenomenon called "blindness" which can occur with broccoli, in that it does not develop a terminal bud--there is just a nub in the center; this means that the plant will not form a head, just lots of leaves. It is thought that blindness may occur if the plant was exposed to cold temperatures when young (especially during shorter daylengths), the central bud was damaged by insects etc., or possibly the young plants experienced a drought.
Hello!
Please kindly tell me the Duration.
The duration from seeding to harvest of bellow vegetable:
1. Potato
2. Bell Pepper
3. broccoli
3. Carrot
4. Strawberry
5. small Cherry (Tomato)
Thanks!
Seng Mr.
I grew some baby broccoli for the first time in my green house in early spring in Montana. I have never done this before and do not know when it is ready to pick
Do you mean Broccolini, aka baby broccoli? If so, this might help:
http://agsyst.wsu.edu/Broccolini.html
Harvest when buds have matured but have not yet opened or developed color. Harvest the main head early to encourage side shoots. Keep a close eye on the buds, as the plant can bolt quickly.
Time to harvest
We planted our broccoli last december and until now no florets just really big leaves. Rainy season is about to start (we only have dry and rainy season) do we have to wait for buds/florets? Or we will just harvest the leaves and plant new crops?
Hi, Sweet: If your broccoli has not produced anything in 6 months, it is likely not going to, so you should harvest the leaves and get on with something else. Do a soil test to make sure that everything is in balance and that there is not an overabundance of nitrogen. Your fail could also have come from overheating. Good luck!
Planted broccoli and collard greens next to each other which is which? One is darker but definitely able to cook collards if lighter one is collards?
Is this a heading broccoli, broccoli raab, sprouting broccoli, or Chinese broccoli? What country/location are you in?
Sometimes too much nitrogen will promote leave growth at the expense of flowering/floret formation. Broccoli, a cool-season crop, also usually requires a period of cold to encourage bud formation; some cultivars are more heat tolerant.
On average, broccoli will mature between 60 and 120 days, depending on cultivar and conditions. It sounds like yours has gone beyond that point. However, if you are growing sprouting broccoli, some of those varieties may take as much as 220 days to mature. In this case, wait a little longer.
If you are growing regular heading broccoli, you might harvest the tender leaves and start over again, but first, just to be sure, you might ask someone from a local nursery what is normal for your area. If you live in the United States, you can also check your county's Cooperative Extension service:
http://www.almanac.com/content/cooperative-extension-services
My broccoli leaves were getting really big but I saw no florets developing. I had read somewhere that over fertilization can cause the leaves to grow to the detriment of the florets so I cut some of the larger leaves off to encourage floret development. Did I just mess up?
