moving aHEAD

These puns are really getting quite awful. It may have made more sense to made some sort of pun with crown since we also refer to broccoli heads as crowns. Sorry!!!

Today we shall learn about broccoli:

a broccoli head is at the center and is surrounded by numerous leaves

(I know, for once it is actually a picture from our own garden :P)

Seed

The first time we’ve grown broccoli (that I know of) was actually this past year. We still have three of those tiny plastic baggies with broccoli seeds (as of this post), so we can continue to grow them. They’re actually quite interesting. Broccoli like full sun and slightly acidic soil; this needs to be taken into account for planning along with how they cannot be grown in the same bed for four years. I would start growing them indoors around early March. Once the seedling has about four to five leaves, then we can start the process of hardening them off to prepare them for the Great Outdoors.

What is interesting is that broccoli is a cold weather crop so it does not like hot weather. That means that our goal is to be able to harvest before it gets to be too hot. This may have been part of our issue last year as we did most of our harvesting in late summer to fall. Maybe if we start them sooner, they will be able to develop bigger heads? However, they also cannot deal with super cold weather so we may want to invest in row covers of some sort.

Planting

As was implied above, broccoli can be transplanted or direct sown. If we decide to direct sow, then the seeds should be planted in late April or early May about ¼ to ½ inch deep. The plants should be about 18 inches apart. I was surprised when the broccoli started growing because they were way bigger than I thought they would be. They should not be planted with beans, mustards, pole beans, strawberries, and tomatoes. We can plant them with herbs, potatoes, onions, or beets. The soil, of course, should be treated with fish oil and compost like always. Once the seedlings are two to three inches tall, thin them to so is only one every 8-10 inches.

Greenhouse/Container

For growing broccoli in a container, the only important difference is to get a container that has an at least 18 inch diameter. I wouldn’t suggest growing in the greenhouse since they do not do well with the heat. If we do end up growing in containers, it would be handy to be able to move the plants into the shade on hot days.

Maintenance

Make sure that the plants receive enough water, otherwise they will not grow well. Ideally, they should receive about one to one and a half inches of water every week.

Just like lettuce, broccoli also bolts. Therefore as soon as there are flowers, you should cut off the head. At that point, you can no longer harvest them.

Even after the central head is cut, the broccoli plant can still grow side heads. The only thing is that the side heads will be much smaller in comparison.

Pest/Disease

The most common pests for broccoli are aphids, cabbage worms, and slugs. We haven’t really had any issues with them in the past so I am not too concerned about them. In terms of disease, a lot of them actually are based on the seed. Some fungal diseases we might be worried about are black leg, Alternaria leaf spot, black rot, and clubroot. As long as we maintain crop rotation and keep a wary eye out for any discoloration, there should not be too many problems with disease. I’m not at school, but I think we still have a container of organic fungicide in the planting table. If not, please remember to restock on it. It is better to have it and not need it immediately then to need it later and be without. If the plant is yellowing and wilting, an issue might be that it is getting too much sun. However, yellowing, if it starts on the bottom and moves up the plant, could be a sign of nitrogen deficiency.

Harvest

It is prefered to harvest broccoli in the morning. We can tell if the head is ready for harvest if it is green, compact, and firm. You could also double check with the seed packet to see what the expected size should be. We want to harvest them when the buds are just starting to swell. As soon as there are any flowers, it is too late to harvest that head.

When you harvest, cut the stalk about 5-8 inches below the head at a diagonal. As noted above, you can continue to harvest the side-shoots, the florets, after you harvest the central head. The stem and leaves are also edible, so you can harvest them as well. I remember I tried one of the leaves once out of curiosity and it definitely had an interesting taste.