Growing Broccoli – Quick Tips on How to Grow Broccoli

Broccoli is a cool weather crop that’s actually fairly easy for the home gardener to grow. It gives and impressive head, and can yield beyond it’s first harvest, giving it an advantage over some other cold weather favorites like cabbage or head lettuce. Here’s a few tips on how to grow broccoli.

Usually broccoli is planted as a transplant with seedings, instead of direct seeding. It can be planted fairly early, 4-6 weeks before the last frost date, as it can take a light frost with no problems. If you expect to start your own seedlings, they should be started about 6-8 weeks before the time you expect to transplant. Getting an early start is best, as most varieties of broccoli don’t do well in hot temperatures. If your summers are not too hot, consider succession planting another crop about a month after the first crop.

Broccoli doesn’t need a lot of sun, around 5 hours a day can be enough, which translates into partial shade settings being OK. Set your plants at least 15 to 18 inches apart. While the plants will grow when spaced closer, the plants won’t develop full sized heads if they are cramped. Larger varieties may need more spacing between the plants to fully develop. In addition, if they are planted in clay soil that doesn’t drain well you may see small heads as well. Warm weather may inhibit full head development, sometimes mulching the plants to cool them can help reduce the impact of warm temperatures.

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Broccoli does not have a deep root system, so it can be grown in containers if desired. Choose one of the smaller varieties if you want to container grow your plants. You should be sure the plants get at least 1 to 1.5 inches of water a week, and that watering is regular.

Broccoli is not a heavy feeder, so you work in a slow release or organic fertilizer at planting time and then you may want to side dress with fertilizer every month or so.

The edible part of broccoli looks like compact clusters of unopened flower buds and the part of the stem just below the head. The green buds of the head start as one big head, and shortly afterward you will see smaller side shoots below the head that are edible as well. When you harvest the main head cut off about 5 inches of the stem below it as well, usually when it’s about 4-6 inches in diameter. Be sure to harvest the head before the small buds start to open into small yellow flowers. After you pick the main head the side shoots will start to grow faster, and you can harvest these for several weeks after the main head is taken. They will not be as large but are just as tasty.

The biggest pests are aphids and cabbage loper worms. Dipel will control the worms, and some folks report success with dusting with cayenne pepper powder as a deterrent for broccoli pests.