A Guide on Growing Broccoli
Broccoli is the common name of a popular cool season vegetable with the scientific name Brassica oleracea italica. Broccoli is a member of the cabbage family and its varieties are green comet, premium crop, and royal purple head. Broccoli is high in beta carotene and vitamin C and it produces sulforaphane, a substance that fights cancer.
Ideal conditions for growing Broccoli
Broccoli prefers to grow in a cool season and it can tolerate temperature below 20 degrees Fahrenheit at night and around 75 degrees Fahrenheit at day. It also prefers to grow in a fertile soil with good drainage and a pH between 6.5 and 7.5. It needs to get full sun in its growing season.
Sowing/Planting Broccoli
Growing broccoli is not difficult to do. Broccoli seeds can be planted directly to the ground in early spring or around 6 weeks before the last frost. It can also be started by planting the seeds indoors and transplant them when the garden soil is already prepared for planting and the broccoli seeds have grown enough for around 4 weeks. In planting seeds indoors, plant the seeds around a half inch deep and 3 inches apart. Thin them when they have already grown enough with leaves to make them ready for transplanting.
Caring for Broccoli
It is best to apply a sufficient amount of fertilizer to the soil before planting. In planting broccoli seeds directly to the soil, start by planting the seeds around a half inch deep in loose soil with each of the seeds 2 to 3 feet apart. In transplanting broccoli seedlings to the soil, plant them around 2 inches deep and around 2 feet apart in rich soil. Compost or manure can be added to boost the start of growth of the broccoli plants. The soil should be kept moist throughout the growing season of the broccoli plants so it needs to be watered regularly.
Broccoli plants should be protected and maintained as it grows. Mulch can be added to the soil to keep moisture and to keep weeds from growing. Collars can be put around each plant to keep the plants from cutworms. Row covers should be used to get rid of insects. The soil should be maintained at a pH value of between 6.5 and 7.5 pH to get away with club roots. The broccoli plants should also get enough air to avoid diseases. All weeds around the growing broccoli plants should be removed and the soil should be cultivated regularly. When the heads of the broccoli plants are already maturing, watering can be cut off. The soil should be kept organic by applying fertilizer at three week intervals to the soil so as to have a healthy growth of the broccoli plants.
Harvesting Broccoli
The first harvest of broccoli plants is carried out by cutting the fully developed central head with around 5 inches of stem from each of the broccoli plants to keep the buds from separating and grow flowers. This will encourage the growth of side shoots. After this is done, harvesting can be done in the same way repeatedly with the side shoots getting smaller for each harvest.
Broccoli produces a central head that is composed of small florets and it is delicious to eat. Its smaller side shoots are called broccoli spears in the market.