Although growing broccoli is a bit more involved than most other vegetables, it is successful in most cases. In addition, home-grown broccoli is usually always fresher and tastier than vegetables from the supermarket. Of course, the health aspect should also play a role. Brassica oleracea var. italica is closely related to cauliflower. Unlike cauliflowerbroccoli has a much milder aroma. When it comes to care, broccoli is almost as demanding as cauliflower. Both are very similar in growth and appearance. The heads of both types of vegetables consist of individual florets. These florets are the actual inflorescences, but they are not fully developed. The typical color of broccoli is deep green to bluish green.
Table of Contents
plant
Corresponding young plants are offered in spring in garden centers. Broccoli can be planted from late April to early August. The plants tolerate light ground frosts relatively well. The individual plants are planted in rows with a planting distance of about 50-60 cm both between the rows and between the individual plants. In particularly rough locations, it is advisable to initially plant the young plants under fleece or perforated foil. For a longer harvest, the broccoli can be planted at different times.
sowing
As a rule, the time of sowing depends on the desired harvest date. If you want to harvest as early as June, you can grow early varieties of broccoli from February, in appropriate growing containers in a warm cold frame or greenhouse. A small nursery from the hardware store or garden center is also suitable.
The seeds are placed in appropriate potting soil. Then you keep them slightly moist and above all warm. The first seedlings appear within a few days. If they are big enough, at least 2-3 cm, you can transplant them into small pots. In May you can then plant them outside at appropriate intervals, with only the first leaves of the plants sticking out of the ground.
You can sow other varieties directly outdoors, but then only from the end of April to June. Before sowing outdoors, the soil should be thoroughly loosened and, if possible, supplied with compost and plenty of lime. Then the seeds are placed in rows no deeper than 2 mm into the ground, covered with a little soil and lightly pressed.
The seed should be kept slightly moist until the first leaves appear. When about 4-6 leaves can be seen, carefully lift the plantlets out of the ground and separate them to about 50-60 cm so that the lowest leaves of the plants touch the ground.
location and soil
Broccoli prefers a warm, wind-protected and sunny location. When growing broccoli, you should be careful not to plant it in the same location every year, but only every 4-5 years. Exceptions are only possible where the soil has a pH greater than 7.8.
Broccoli thrives particularly well in neutral soil. If the pH value is below 7-6.5, it is advisable to work lime into the soil and, if necessary, to add it directly to the planting hole. Since broccoli is a heavy feeder, the soil for cultivation should be very nutrient-rich but also permeable and fresh. Broccoli is a deep rooter and as a result compacted soil is unsuitable for growing.
watering and fertilizing
- Water broccoli regularly
- be careful not to water the leaves
- Keep moisture in the soil, create a layer of mulch
- can be nettle leaves or lawn clippings
- place around the plants
- such a layer of mulch has the advantage of releasing nitrogen into the soil
- Always keep the soil evenly moist
- Broccoli does not tolerate waterlogging
After a basic fertilization with a fresh organic fertilizer such as compost, you can administer a little nitrogen about three more times during the growing season. As already mentioned, lawn clippings and nettle leaves in the form of a mulch layer are also very suitable for this. A few weeks before harvesting, you should not give any more fertilizer, otherwise too much nitrate could accumulate in the vegetables.
harvest
Broccoli can be harvested from summer to autumn, depending on the variety and the start of cultivation, with the exception of the ‘Purple Sprouting’ variety, which can be harvested in March/April. There is usually around 90 days between sowing and harvesting. Only the flower buds are harvested and only as long as they are still dense and completely closed.
This vegetable can be harvested several times if cut correctly. First, only the main shoot with flower buds is cut, as soon as it is between 10 and 15 cm long. Later, you can also harvest the underlying, regrowing side shoots, from which further flower heads will develop. This extends the harvest by about 3-4 weeks. Especially in summer it can happen that the broccoli turns yellow or blooms very quickly and as soon as the flower buds open, the broccoli is no longer suitable for consumption.
Diseases
Clubroot – Clubroot is a plant disease that can affect all types of cabbage, including broccoli. This fungus lives in the soil and enters the plant through the roots. There it leads to an uncontrolled division of the root cells and the formation of bulbous thickenings on the roots. The result is withered leaves because they can no longer be adequately supplied with water. Ultimately, the entire plant dies.
Regular rotation of crops can prevent this disease. Liming and regular loosening of the soil can also have a preventive effect. Loosened and permeable soils are also important because this fungus thrives particularly well in compacted and acidic soils.
A direct control of clubroot is not possible. The number of spores can be significantly reduced with calcium cyanamide fertilization, but the affected plants usually have to be removed and disposed of.
Downy Mildew – A downy mildew infestation can be identified by a light colored patch of fungus on the undersides of the leaves and yellowish spots on the upper sides of the leaves. If the infestation is stronger, the fungal network also runs through the flower tissue and is reflected in gray florets.
You can avoid it, for example, by never watering over the leaves when watering the plants, they should remain dry, and by keeping sufficient planting distances. In order to prevent pest infestation in general, it is advisable to mix it with other plants or to strengthen the plants, for example by using rock dust or compost.
pests
Cabbage Flies – Broccoli, like many other types of cabbage, is commonly eaten by the cabbage fly. This pest lays its eggs on the root neck of young broccoli plants. Its larvae or maggots then tamper with the roots, which can damage the plant so much that it dies.
There are hardly any ways to combat it and you should definitely avoid using pesticides. However, there are a few things you can do to prevent it. You can protect the plants with vegetable protection nets, for example. Spreading wood ash, mulching with fern or attaching a so-called cabbage collar around the root collar can also be helpful. This is commercially available and can be made of cardboard or plastic. The cabbage fly cannot get to the root collar and lays its eggs on this collar, where they then dry up.
Cabbage White – The Cabbage White, both small and large, is a butterfly that lays its eggs on the undersides of the leaves of plants. An infestation can usually be recognized by white butterflies fluttering around and large holes in the leaves caused by the cabbage white caterpillars. The caterpillars of the large cabbage white are yellowish green with black spots and those of the small are light green and velvety.
Here, too, appropriate nets can be used to prevent butterflies from laying their eggs. If the larvae have already hatched, the naturally occurring bacterium bacillus thurigiensis can be used to combat them. The only biologic based on this bacterium approved for the home garden is XenTari.
Flea flea – flea beetles appear mainly in dry and warm weather. These perforate, especially young plants, like a sieve. Small beetles with yellow or black stripes can often be seen on the leaves of affected plants.
If the soil is kept evenly moist, flea beetles can be kept away very well, as well as with appropriate pest protection nets. Regular or early loosening of the soil as well as mulching and weed control can also protect against flea beetles. There is no approved control agent for the home garden.
Mealy cabbage aphid – As early as April/May, an infestation on young plants can be recognized by a mealy, gray wax coating. The aphid then spreads very quickly. The consequences are deformities and heartlessness as well as lightening of leaves, curled leaves and honeydew contamination.
Ladybird, lacewing, hover fly or parasitic wasp larvae as well as spiders, hornets and wasps are the natural enemies of this aphid. For additional control, you can use environmentally friendly potash-soap-based treatments that treat the underside and top of the leaf. Depending on the degree of infestation, you may have to repeat the whole thing. A mixed culture with beans can partially reduce an infestation.
Special Varieties
- Broccoli Calabrese – Calabrese is the most well-known green broccoli variety. It has an excellent taste, is high-yielding, medium early and forms numerous side shoots. Can be sown from March to June and harvested between June and September.
- Broccoli Marathon – This mid-late and extra heavy yielding variety produces very firm, large and fine-budded blue-green heads. It is suitable for summer and autumn harvest and mildew tolerant. Can be sown from April to June and harvested from July to October.
- Broccoli Purple Sprouting – In addition to the many traditional broccoli varieties, there is also a perennial variety called Broccoli Purple Sprouting, also known as ‘winter broccoli’. It is sown in July, then overwinters outdoors and can be harvested in March or April of the following year. This extra early variety has a particularly delicate taste.
Conclusion
Broccoli is certainly not the most popular vegetable, but it is still very tasty and healthy. It can be pre-cultivated indoors or sown or planted directly outdoors. The cultivation of broccoli is a bit more complex but still feasible. It is particularly important to comply with the crop rotation and sufficient moisture. If you pay attention to optimal site conditions and care, this can also prevent diseases and pests. So nothing stands in the way of harvesting your own broccoli.
