Growing Broccoli Plants

Tips for growing broccoli in the garden

Broccoli is so rewarding to grow because it continues to send up side shoots for weeks, after you harvest the main head, giving you a long harvest season. If you`re a broccoli lover, having even a few plants in the garden will give you a steady supply.

Location

Note: Broccoli should only be planted in a bed where no cabbage has been grown for three years.
Since broccoli originally comes from the Mediterranean, it likes a warm, sunny spot sheltered from the wind. Like all cabbage, it is a high nutrient-demanding plant, therefore, you should add plenty of compost to the soil before sowing.

Sowing

Usually Broccoli is sown indoors in early spring (February / March) for a summer harvest from June, but in some areas a second, late-summer planting can yield a fall harvest. As a biennial plant, broccoli can overwinter in mild climates and provide a spring harvest. Pay attention to the ripening period: depending on the variety, the days to maturity range from about 48 days to 115 days.
Direct sowing in the field is done from the end of April. Cover the seeds only thinly with soil. When the small plantlets have formed the first two leaves after the cotyledons, they should be separated / pricked out to a distance of 5 cm.

Spacing

Pre-grown broccoli plants should be planted outdoors after approx. 4 - 6 weeks. The last night frosts should be over by this time. Leave a distance of at least 40 cm between the individual plants.

Care

Broccoli plants do best in cool spring and fall temperatures between 15° and 20°C. They begin to suffer when the temperature nears 27°C. Broccoli plants shouldn`t need supplemental feeding if the soil is rich. You can possibly add approx. 60g/m² horn fertiliser after 4 weeks. Keep broccoli well-watered, especially during dry periods.

Protection against pests and diseases

Good partners in a mixed culture are: Beans, dill, peas, carrot, lettuce, celery, spinach, tomatoes.
Broccoli is susceptible to the same pests as other cabbage varieties. These include the cabbage looper, the caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly, earth fleas and aphids, which mostly attack the young plants. A vegetable net can help against these.

Harvest

Most broccoli varieties are ready to start harvesting once they`ve reached the size of a large fist. If you wait until your broccoli produces a large head as you see in the grocery store, the buds will open. After cutting of the main head, new smaller flower heads will soon form in the leaf axils and all around the lower stalk. Keep harvesting and they will keep producing.