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Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Broccoli
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.
Plant in a bed of moist, fertile soil that drains well. To increase fertility before you plant, in early spring, work in 2 to 4 inches of rich compost (humus) or a thin layer of manure. The soil pH should ideally be slightly acidic, between 6.0 and 7.0.
When to Plant Broccoli
- Broccoli is a cool-season crop, so it should be started in early- to mid-spring (depending on your climate) for an early summer crop or in mid- to late summer for a fall crop. High temperatures will affect the development of the broccoli head (the harvestable part), so the goal is to get broccoli to mature before or after high temperatures are expected.
- Broccoli seeds are capable of germinating in soil temperatures as low as 40掳F (4掳C), but warmer soil is preferred and will greatly speed up development.
- For spring plantings, broccoli may be started indoors or outdoors a few weeks ahead of your last spring frost date. Consult our Planting Calendar to see recommended dates for your area. Generally speaking:
- Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date.
- Sow seeds outdoors 2 to 3 weeks before your last frost date, or as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring.
- For fall plantings (best in warm climates), sow seeds outdoors 85 to 100 days before the first fall frost, when soil and ambient temperatures are high.
How to Plant Broccoli
- If starting seeds outdoors, sow seeds 1/2-inch deep and 3 inches apart.
- Once seedlings reach a height of& 2 to 3 inches, thin them so that plants are 12 to 20 inches apart.
- If you started seeds indoors, 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鈥檚 done! See the whole process from sowing to transplanting to broccoli care and harvesting.
Growing
- Plants thrive in temperatures between 65掳 and 70掳F (18掳 and 21掳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鈥攕uffocate 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.
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鈥檛 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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Broccoli plants can take a long time to form florets and they are a cold weather crop. The plants don't like the heat. Most varieties take 60 to 70 days to grow a head and the plants may be as tall as 3 feet. It's better to leave the leaves on the plant and not cut them off. If by a chance you don't get florets on your plant you can eat the broccoli leaves. Try planting broccoli in late summer for a fall harvest.
I purchased a seedling of broccoli this April with a little floret already growing. I bought it on a whim because my daughter loves broccoli and begged me to buy it! I didn't know they were so difficult to grow. I kept it indoors for these last 3 weeks for fear of frost. It hasn't grown at all, and one of the leaves turned yellow suddenly. Now the little floret is bolting. I'm not sure what to do at this point. Do I plant it outside and hope it will grow again for the fall crop? I thought if I gathered seeds from it it wouldn't be a total waste, but I'm not sure it will grow in the summer heat. Or should I just harvest it, eat the tiny floret, and forget about the whole thing? Please help!
Correction - it has not yet bolted. The buds are turning yellow, so I guess that means it is about to bolt?
Go ahead and plant it. Broccoli seedlings will take 8 to 12 weeks from transplant until harvest time, depending on the variety. If you see yellowing, apply a high nitrogen but low phosphorus fertilizer.
I did my first garden last year, and the broccoli... bolted, I guess it is called. It turned yellow and had itty bitty flowers. I am going to try again this year. On the planting chart on this site, it says in my area, it is best to sow indoors in mid March, and sow outdoors in mid April and harvest in mid June. I feel like that has to be wrong... I live in South western Ontario. No one even starts their gardens here until the first week of June, because we risk frost before that. If I planted broccoli outside in mid April I would be risking 6 weeks of frost! And then June 1st-mid June is only 2 weeks. Does it grow that fast?
Hi Kaela,
Broccoli is a cool weather crop. You can put transplants out in the garden in late May or early June for a harvest before the weather gets too hot. The seeds should be started indoors about 7 to 8 weeks prior to transplanting outdoors. Seeds can also be planted outdoors about 2 weeks before your last frost date. See our planting by the Moon's phase chart at www.almanac.com/content/planting-moons-phase-region-3.
I started some broccoli seeds in containers. Total of nine plants. All sprouted really well. All have grown their first true leaves except for one plant. That plant failed to grow true leaves and has finally died. Leaving 8 plants. Out of those 8 plants 3 of them are failing to grow additional leaves, and where there should be new true leaves sprouting, there is a stump. That leaves me with 5 really nice plants, but nearly 50% success rate. The plants that are not defective are really nice. What gives?
We are not sure why some of your seedlings didn't grow well. We recommend starting broccoli seeds in a soilless potting mix. At the first sign of growth move the containers into a sunny location. The seedlings need lots of light. They grow best when the temp. is 60 to 65 degrees during the day and about 10 degrees cooler at nigh.
I've grown broccoli many year, but always purchased the starts. Last year and this I've tried to start my own plants. They germinate and shoot up quickly to 3 inches, all spindly, then they fall over and die out. How do I overcome this and get them to beef up and keep on growing.
Hi, just wanted to tell you I grow my broccoli in the little jiffy pods green houses, in a big green house. Then repot, still in an open greenhouse. When they get big enough to outgrow the pot I plant in the ground and water every day. Hope this helps. ..happy growing!
