Tue 30 Dec 2008
This cool-season crop bears over a long season. The leafy, erect plants reach from 1 ½ - 2 feet tall.
To achieve tender great tasting broccoli need the cool temperatures as they produce flower heads. Select a cultivar that will mature before the hot weather returns.
Broccoli has been improved greatly in recent years through the efforts of plant breeders developing better varieties for commercial freezing. They increased the size and holding ability of the central head and reduced plant size.
Frost-hardy broccoli plants should be transplanted to the garden in early spring to mature ahead of hot days or in early fall so they will be ready for harvest before killing frost. In mild Western climates, winter broccoli can be grown successfully, but plants should begin to head before the onset of cold weather.
Large plants like broccoli are impractical for containers.
How to plant
Grow spring broccoli from started plants; start fall or winter broccoli from seeds sown in the garden in late summer. Where summers aren’t too warm, sow seed in the garden in early spring. Sow seeds 1/2 inches deep and 1 inch apart. Later transplant to 2′/2 to 3 feet apart. Spring broccoli will mature in 50-60 days; winter crops need 75-90 days to form heads.
Care
Give broccoli plenty of water and push it along with frequent applications of high-nitrogen plant food to develop the big, vigorous plants that are necessary to support the large heads. Plant short rows; six plants are sufficient to feed four people as one plant can produce two pounds of main heads. To avoid having many heads maturing at once, plant three plants at three week intervals.
Harvesting
Cut the central heads while the buds are still tight. Include up to 6 inches of the edible stem and leaves. Pierce the lower stem with your thumbnail; peel off and discard the skin where it is hard and woody. Broccoli will send up edible shoots after you harvest the central head. Keeping shoots harvested before flowering will encourage production as long as the weather is cool. When the weather warms, the heat will force broccoli to flower-then it’s past the good-eating stage.
