How to Grow Broccolibroccoli vegetables When learning how to grow broccoli, you should know that broccoli thrives better after being transplanted before spring planting.Broccoli grows best during the cooler seasons although there are new, heat tolerant varieties which will grow in the summer. In hot weather, non-heat tolerant broccoli can flower, bloom and go to seed too early. You can usually get 2 crops a year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Broccoli is a hardy member of the cabbage family and contains plenty of healthy vitamins A and D as well as the minerals protein and iron. This means they have time to grow their crop with minimal interference after the transplant. How to grow broccoli is fairly straightforward and here are some tips to help you. Broccoli Varieties Green Comet is a popular variety for beginners wanting to know how to grow broccoli. It has 55 days to harvest, has an early yield and doesn't mind the heat. Another popular variety is Cruiser. This takes 58 days to harvest, has a high yield and doesn't mind dry conditions. Green Goliath takes 60 days to harvest, can be grown in the spring, summer or fall and tolerates extremes quite well. How to grow broccoli is all about choosing the best variety, depending on the conditions available. How to Plant Broccoli You can either plant broccoli outside after the last frost or grow it indoors for 5 or 6 weeks before the last frost. Transport young plants in the early spring. If you are growing it in the fall, either grow or buy the seedlings and plant them outside. Start the seedlings in the middle of summer if you are planting outside in the fall. To work out when to set your fall transplants, count back from the first fall frost and add 10 days to the transplant harvest. Seed to transport time is not included in the 10 days. Plant the seeds ¼ or ½ an inch deep or put transplants in a slightly deeper hole than originally. Thin or plant the seedlings between 18 and 24 inches apart. Knowing to grow broccoli also means you must leave 36 inches between each row. Broccoli will grow upright, up to 2 ½ feet high. Plants should be a foot apart in all directions. How to Tend Broccoli The plants should have enough soil moisture, especially when the heads are developing. Don't water the tops of the broccoli plants because it will encourage flowering. Use fertilizer for broccoli transplants and nitrogen fertilizer to side-dress half grown plants. How to Harvest Broccoli Don't wait too long to harvest your broccoli plants. Learning how to grow broccoli is as much about timing as care. Broccoli heads are clusters of immature florets which will eventually produce seeds. If you delay harvesting, the buds will separate and the florets will open and turn yellow. You have a 3 or 4 day window for harvesting. It is best to harvest it before daytime temperatures hit 80ºF if possible so early morning is a good time. Cut the broccoli with a sharp knife, cutting the main head off down the stalk about 7 inches to encourage side shoot production where the main stalk joins the leaves. If you cut even lower, you will remove some of the potentially productive leaf nodes. This means not so many new shoots but larger heads. You can take between 4 and 6 cuttings from each broccoli stalk for up to 6 weeks after harvesting the main part. Knowing how to grow broccoli is easy enough if you follow these guidelines.
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