The best conditions for growing broccoli revolve around water, soil, heat and sunlight. Once these four elements are aligned you should find growing broccoli such a breeze. You would want to do it again and again. In this guide, I have put together in greater detail what you need in order to create the best conditions for growing amazing broccoli.
By way of background, broccoli is scientifically known as Brassica oleracea var. italica. It is a form of cabbage out of the mustard family. Broccoli was introduced to North America and England in the 1700s having been native to eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor. Broccoli is related to brussels sprouts, cauliflower, turnips and cabbage among other edible plants.
Just like cabbage, which I also explain best conditions for growing it here, broccoli is a fairly easy crop to grow at home. Its ability to do well in the ground or in pots is something to behold.
There are so many varieties of broccoli with each of them having certain properties that are worth considering.
For example, variety properties include length of time to maturity and tolerance to heat and pets. For instance, Arcadia is a variety that matures in 63 days, Green Goaliath in 75 days and Emperor in 80 days. You will need to get into this detail with your seed or seedling supplier to appreciate certain advantages that come with each variety.
Finally, if you are wondering which other crops could be great companions for broccoli, you have onions, potatoes, celery and herbs. Strawberries, tomatoes and some beans should not be grown in close proximity to broccoli due to shared disease and pests.
Let’s now look into the specifics of growing broccoli with the aim of creating the best conditions possible for the vegetable to thrive.
1. What are the best conditions for growing broccoli in respect of season?
Summary: Late Winter, in Spring, in Early or Late Summer (Avoid mid-summer)
The Explanation…
Just like cabbage, broccoli is a cool weather crop. It thrives under cool days and cool nights. For this reason, the recommended season to grow broccoli is late winter, during spring, early or later summer.
The height of winter and middle of summer is the least favorable times to attempt cultivating broccoli. The weather is simply too cold or too warm to successfully grow the crop. When the weather is too cold or warm, broccoli will be triggered to go to seed skipping head formation.
Moreover, high temperatures typical of mid-summer will dramatically stunt the growth of the crop. The way to navigate around this is to target your crop maturing before this period or after the heat (late summer). Thus it is recommended to target harvesting your broccoli when the days have temperatures around 75°F or 23°C.
As you can tell, the window for growing broccoli is quite wide which makes it possible to grow two crops per year in spring and in fall. As mentioned earlier, consider that varieties play an important role if you live in a region with naturally high temperatures. For example, Green Duke is a broccoli variety that is known to be heat tolerant.
2. What are the best conditions for growing broccoli in respect of soils?
Summary: Acidic, well draining, well fertilized soils
The Explanation…
The best soils for growing broccoli are acidic. These should also be well-draining with a pH of between 6.0 and 6.8. The best broccoli growing medium mixture should be 40% soil, 40% compost, 20% sand. The sand component ensures that the soil is well draining. The 40% aged compost component will help supplement nitrogen in the soil as well as fertilize the soil (see further notes on nitrogen below).
3. Is it best to grow broccoli in containers?
Summary: If space comes at a premium, YES
The Explanation…
Growing broccoli in containers brings many advantages to the cultivation of this great food crop. For starters, container broccoli growing saves a lot of space if space comes at a premium such as in an apartment or small yard.
Apart from the obvious space advantage, growing your crop in containers is also an effective way of creating the best grow conditions for your broccoli. It is easier to manage the soil, weeds and exposure to sunlight, for example.
Containers can be made in such a way as to be easily moved around. Considering that broccoli is very sensitive to heat, containers make it convenient to move the plants into some shade during excessively hot days.
A 12 inch deep container is good enough to accommodate a single broccoli plant. It is possible to grow multiple plants in a bigger container at 18 inches apart. Keep in mind that if your plants are two close to each other they will end up growing smaller heads.
4. Should I grow broccoli from seed or from broccoli steam ?
Summary: It is easier to grow broccoli from seed.
The Explanation…
Growing broccoli from seed presents the easiest and most convenient route to having a healthy broccoli plant, in my opinion.
When growing your broccoli from seed, prepare a growing medium mixture in equal parts of coconut coir or peat moss, vermiculite or perlite and compost or animal manure. The seeds should be planted 6 – 13mm deep in this mix at temperatures of between 15 and 30 degrees Celsius. The seeds should germinate within 4 to 7 days.
At about 4 to 6 weeks old, the seedlings may be transferred to a garden or growing container. However, before this final to garden step, there is a hardening required. The initial 5 to 7 days before planting in the garden, move the seedlings to partial shed before they are exposed to the full sun. Skipping this step my cause shock and induce flowering with no head.
Once in the garden, the seedlings should be planted some 19 to 23 inches apart in rows of some 23 to 35 inches apart.
5. When and which fertilizer should I apply on my broccoli?
Summary: Add aged compost at planting, at 3 weeks and then once a week until harvest
The Explanation…
You create the best soil conditions for growing broccoli by increasing fertility of the soil in which you will be planting the crop. You can do this by adding aged compost to the soil some 3 weeks prior to planting. The compost should be worked into the soil.
After transplanting the seedlings, the next round of fertilization will be at about 3 weeks applied as top dressing. Thereafter, add compost or manure every week until harvest time. There are certainly other fertilizer options to use. These include bone meal, fish meal, manure, sea meal, neem cake and mustard cake.
Keep in mind that too much nitrogen will result in excessive lush foliage yet we are most interested in the head when growing broccoli. In the NPK matrix, it is potassium and phosphorus that is most needed for development.
On the other hand if you find your broccoli plant with bottom leaves turning yellow and the issue spreads upwards, your crop is probably suffering from low nitrogen. This can be corrected by using a fertilizer such as blood meal which is high in nitrogen.
6. What are the best sunny conditions for growing broccoli?
Summary: 6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day
The Explanation…
Access to full sun of between 6 to 8 hours represents the best conditions for growing broccoli in respect of sunlight. In as much as this is the case, also keep in mind that warm temperatures brought about by sunlight increase the risk of your broccoli bolting. At the height of summer when the sun becomes too hot, the conditions are too warm for broccoli.
On the other and, lack of sunlight could result in thin, leggy plants with poor heads. In any case, herein lies the distinct advantage of growing broccoli in portable containers. You can re-actively move your plants accordingly and avoid too little or too much sun.
7. How much water does broccoli need?
Summary: Regular watering, maintain consistent soil moisture
The Explanation…
Broccoli will appreciate regular watering of at least 1 to 1.5 inches per week. This amount may need to be reduced depending on the amount of rain your garden receives, if any. Watering should be toned down as the crop begins to reach maturity. To better manage moisture loss and certainly weeds, use mulch at the base of each plant.
When watering your broccoli crop, to minimize risk of rot, do not water directly overhead onto the heads. Aim to water at the base avoiding contact with the heads and much of the foliage. In any case, water your broccoli early on in the day to give enough time for the foliage to dry under the sun should it become wet.
