How to grow broccoli

Growing broccoli is more straightforward than you might think. The version of the vegetable that is most widely commercially available in stores is actually called calabrese, but you can also try purple or white sprouting broccoli for an exotic look.

Prepare your beds

The secret of all successful vegetable gardening is good quality soil. Your plants ideally need a sticky textured soil that will drain well, but also one that is rich in nutrients.

If you have not been blessed with the best quality soil around, you can change this by digging in some goodness. Chemical fertilizers are widely available, but think carefully before you spread this stuff around your garden. Organic matter is not only preferable to chemicals to put around something that you and your family will eat, but it will also release its goodness over a longer period of time, meaning a steadier flow of nutrients to your broccoli plants.

Sow the seeds

The first step in growing broccoli is sowing the seeds. Check the instructions on the seed packet for details of which month you should choose for this – all varieties vary slightly. Sow the seeds thinly as allowing them to get too crowded means that they will compete for nutrients.

Transplant the seeds

Transplant the seeds to their permanent bed when they are around 4 inches tall, making sure that you place them at least eighteen inches apart. This ensures that they have enough space to derive adequate nutrients from the soil, and also that you can pick one out without damaging the others if it falls prey to pests and diseases.

Care for the broccoli

Make sure to keep the weeds down when you are growing broccoli. As with all vegetables, it needs watering, but you can conserve the water in the soil by laying down a leaf or bark mulch between the plants.

Harvest the broccoli

The most rewarding part of growing broccoli is picking and eating it. You should have a harvesting period that lasts at least six weeks. When the broccoli plants flower, it is a sign that the vegetable will not be worth eating any longer.